

,v 



) ■ 

( 




i 




T 


I 



. f 



f 


4 


f 


t _ 







■IV^ 




n 

•' 'i.. 'V''■'• r?rv>.'- I'lm*'':'*'-/. ^^' wfw 


•■'f 


f/jn 

-; • .1' 


. 4 








It , 


■- ,.:-i-ii—jL ,'. y '', .Tnii■*■ ,“ _'-„L—i— ' Vj|H 




-f> 


•iT.ifrn' 


t> 


' \ 


■r 










'v '‘''{^•'.r 

h\ 

f \ » ' i ! 


Ki% 


“1 


peff5'S’..-'S 

v “'tfV3 .’*. ,v‘’;-< 

.,' "l ., Vr, \ 'u »: 


•■ i‘: '^. 

'^VpAH<:v' 

i: ^ 




i'V 




fi 








M 


\. 






r.>- 




. .r 




rV ilT- 


'(.W «■ 




f'’ ■' 


I'* *v‘ 








;i.‘V t^Pj 


f Ti 








-0 

I / ■‘- 


[1^4't 


tV!'.'.;-'-^ 


m 


■■*.V 


»>1 


h* 


MV; . 




< ,■* 


iV... 






•\jVa 




IrtVB'V 




» •’5’ i M* 


b. 


i" -VUl 

t' fi4'''''l. ,•; 

^ A . /» • 

./'.V 


f» 


',, . .''■ ;;■ '.I ' 

“V 






if V 




JN.', 




P'.A,! 


!« 


1 




M 


Is'.'.^l 


^■'o ; ■ 

.,..' ■'■'if ;■' ■' ’VCi'-ilIj ; '.':'(i ' 

:v.i* ,. . , 


>vjf,"iV 


Ng|i 


•1 


,iV^'‘- 










V .'i 




T^': K 


y 1 


•4 

• ? •• 

t ■ ! 

k*t' ' 





4v • 

i'.ii 


f k i 


<v * 


>■4. 


■Vi 




yji 






,y.I 


1 j 




J 


'l/J' •^!''V’?,^ 

•' ■■;. /it-.'i 


■ 




r:r ^ .,• 

V'lW'.i'’ y I 










'.i'.•• 


.v« 


\ 




i Ml 


ip. ■ -i' 


:,; w5i_ :>* ■:■'.'. 


■.:/ 


!';■ 


iri 


J' 


4 

, iM/t _/ > 


fi»'. V*. j,, 

' ' •;. ■* ‘ » 

'■/■iJiiV'y'v.. ' ■ :T> f * 


♦‘ki 




:'S« 




V/.A:;’l 


5V' 


44^ 




















«rTL ^ • *t 

^ ^ 


1 * » ' A. r^ 






' ■■•«»->«' .’’j!‘■•\"^ v>».' # 

-w* ' > j- ■ 




. ■ ..'\v ^ > ’ . L, , 

* -.- ■ ■' - '.^sA '. ^c‘'- <W/.' 

Ti*'* • •• - ^ %■*' •• •■?.• 


>r' 


’ ■ vL’l' ^ • . •- » -r'" ''^•- 

- >■/-■ 45.V - •' • i . * 

-T . ■ ■ - ' i*’, I ” ^ . ' . 

-, I ' ' - *1 


, '■ \ 

■% <>.l»M 


■ Vjl 




■% M 



«Ik * • 


* •k . 


.% • 

’. B' • 




'■' '5 -'‘lajC 




* • '/3ip19®^ • Js 

• •' ^T^Ki' - • * • '^. 




-- 

/ •>;- ■•^H|^>k;l</’A.^^' •i', 

-t«>- 






/ 


y ^ 


V < 


t «# 




vK ' < 'WM 

^^*7. I 

p-''' KM * 

.;■-: ■...: :. vy y: , 

►;}B:'A-;;’»’ ’‘ '.''■'t,^, :■ ' “ '^, r 


i'"’'!'' .^1 

' ht 

.' "‘^■< .' '' ‘1 


fT .<P >*, 


f 

r • 


I • ^ • 


' * 

V , ♦ '' 

r , 




V.; 


'■■ ;■ 




ii.y. 


- ^c' 


6 










<*■ V 1 '■■■■<V'’ 

I, , • • , , 


« . < 

■ .i • ‘j ^ 




r. f 


I « 


I *l<r i 


K- ^ '■ '. ■". ■ ' ■ , ■ 

I //. < ’ • 1*1 '.i' - * 'I 








k« J^. 














'-.v 

V. . . .V 



n 




1, 





A 


f 



n\ • 


-;. .. 

"i . 






«?■■ ", 


■■'■;■ ?W*i 

o 


' ■ ■ ‘^j 


■•'^'^Tk' 

„'^«!t. lif.r. .-.‘-V 


'• '"•!? '■ ■ r I*- -'if' , '. ■ ' x” 

. A \ ^ JtllkMJ mthM^tlk’.' 4. I .I-- ■.‘^■. ( . <• '. ^ '■'•’U ' ' 

,ik ■ .'T^h T ■ I ’ ^ ’ ■ ■• jri^• 

'.. ■' ■ • "■ 4 ■ . -% :■ 


r 


. U'-'" 


' - * 


' - w* * * ■•< 

■ #^ • 

‘ • V 




* ■ v'* - 


•• • 




. . 

.♦a ' ^ J> . m 





I ^ • ■' • 


. »/ {. • 


; I 



fc.. .-. ..'. -■ , ■ liliiA':. :'4l!iBF:--'‘^ ■..'rk>^ -iii 

T- ■■ r ■■ ' - 'v. S'. *;*■»'■ ; ■ (-jiS 

{■» ■" wTvr-1 ■ • ■■;• '.'i/'i'VSx^.t.'n/A ■■-i-l-S''-' il;' ii'i'I*.' ' ^-j< • 

? . ■'■ ' ■« 3 ; 'nHHp vtf^/n :: '^^G>' 

i'-v- ■ • -‘S'-’-s. 

•■ f,,.-.-- ■■ ij;» V. s 'f. ■ • ' V • sxJWiteu 


,mf.^ ^'*9 t'.V 

' J •. , .• ■ ... 

V 









m'V 


■ A '•"- 

■‘^, ■ . 


e?' ic^ j' : i A ^ 

^ •*.-■ .>■ .4' 

s' . - 


••'■ » 







: ?;>, /. 



tir. 


% • 

• »■: .■*. ■ 


. ‘‘fV 

ifWHS 









! 



i 



TYPES OF AFRICAN RACES, i. Ashanti. 2. Negress of Eoango. 3. Kameruniau. 4. Baluban witl 
10. Akka II. Zulu. 12. Massai. 13. Wanganda (Ugandai). 14. Darfur-Negro. 15. Haussanian. 16-17. Bushman 















i 



namental scars. 5. Somali, Eissa-Somali. 6. Abyssinian Woman. 7. Howa. 8. Herorian Woman. 9. Ovambo. 
usband and Wife. 18. Namaqua. 19. Niamniam. 20. Dinka. 













ti <>'’ •' 


/ K.’' • r*/i‘:«' .- ''‘Nf^' , , ..iTij! , I i * • - ^ ^ \ ’t »yt '• a " ■‘- tiW 

fflKiii. JE i-s8»A'‘ ■■ ' “rY'' 







-* ^ 


■ F^.’ 


‘".A, 






• ■»■ ■■" 




' \W^W<^ ' 

' 4 * . av'TI 


pm;- ■ IPIvi ■ •’ ^ , . '^TW^ 

•■ ■ x'.yhaiA^id.Jf^.'■■.. -'-y '■- ;v.6.._ v -.>'»^:igji.1j;,.^ 


- K/ 



I I 





.■j*’ 





■ /Lkk' ^ 


r^i V'. ■ 

° .3;" •' >• 

-'i '-"^ * ■ ^i:.\_ 

• ^ -O' f A‘t 

'■- / ■ ‘:f^ ■ f X ■:'r 

'V4* . .'■^d / .’ 

i-' 

■ , i-A*- 


''V,.-; 







y'' .. ' ■' V i-ifc. n-' .^'-'i ' 

y..- ..^Irr .,-;■'. •! ■■ .. 

' . -'■ y ^ ^^■•. • .’ ^\* '' ■*^' 't • . .’' •v^';S« *> 35.-1 ■ 

' JMW'* ■ AV. 
hu '-oliMimfF-V j- 


rT> 





.i; 


if. I, 


‘ .'7 wi? 


li^,' •' ' ' /• ,■'■-■ *' •j'-v 

'■ tA;^".... ^:.4i'-'' ■>■' ■•' ''■' .vi'. '-'.^'; 

:'? 4 ;i.'.>:?= ::>« 

.; . '.^^f«.'...'AJyi£.'. ,•>»* .J 



if':/'■„ . ; . 

WL^ J 1 . ■ _4 ♦• L ■ t% < 

I . . «• t ^ 



• ' ‘ ^ . -iLitillito -, 







THE STANDARD HISTORY 

OF ALL 

ATIONS AND RaCES 


^^ontaining a Record of all the Peoples of 
the World from the Earliest Historical 
Times, with a Description of their Homes, 
Customs, and Religions; their Temples, 
Monuments, Literature, and Art .* .♦ .. 


IN 

TEN 

VOLUMES 


... B^^.. 

EDWARD S. ELLIS, A. M. 

Author of “The Eclectic Primary History of the United States,” etc.; Editor of 
“A Dictionary of Mythology,” “A Classical Dictionary,” 

“Plutarch’s Lives,” etc. 

L. w. YAGGY, M. S. 

% 

Author of “Museum of Antiquity,” “Royal Path of Life,” Yaggy’s “Geographical 

Study,” “Little Gems,” etc. 

H. G. CUTLER 

• 

Author of “The Grimms,” and Contributor to the “Magazine 
of American History,” etc. 

L. BRENT VAUGHAN, PH. B. 

I 

Editor of “Hill’s Practical Encyclopedia,” etc. 


ILLUSTRATORS 

W. H. LIPPINCOTT, H. A. OGDEN, A. B. DOGGETT, 

De cost smith, R. M. HYNES, W. P. SNYDER, 

C. KENDRICK, C. M. RELYEA, J. STEEPLE DAVIS, 
JOSEPH GLEESON, W. H. DRAKE, WARREN SHEPPARD, 
W. C. FITLER, GILBERT GAUL, and other artists 


VoL. I —Races 


CHICAGO 

LANDIS BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS 




SECOND COPY, 


fS 







i 


I • 


50921 

Copyright, 1899, 

GEO. M. HILL CO., CHICAGO 


fWO COPIES R£Ci:iV£D. 




I 



CONTENTS 

Races 

PAGE 


Introduction, . ....... xi 

Birthplace of Races, ........ i 

The Egyptians, ........ 2 

The Nubians, . . . . . . . . .21 

The Abyssinians, . 39 

The Tartars of Africa, . . . . . . -57 

The East Africans, ........ 65 

Mozambique, . . . . . . . . .71 

The Land of the Caffres, ....... 79 

The Southern Bechuanas, . . . . . .91 

The Congo Caffres, . . . . . . . .113 

The Land of Nigritia, . . . . . . *131 

Senegambian Tribes, . . . . . . . .141 

Negroes of Upper Guinea, . . . . . .147 

The Berbers, . . ... . . . . .165 

The Malayans, . . . . . . . . • i 75 

The Madagascar Malayans, . . . . . .177 

Borneo Malayans, . . . . . . . * I 95 

Sumatra Malayans, ........ 200 

The Javanese, ......... 207 


111 

























IV 


CONTENTS 


The Philippine Islanders, 
The Polynesians, 

The Papuans, 

The Australians, 

The Tartars, 

The Arctics, 

Toward Bering Strait, 
The Esquimaux, 

North American Indians, 
Mexicans, 

The Central Americans, 


PAGE 

216 

220 

239 

263 

297 

305 

329 

351 

365 

395 

407 


END OF CONTENTS TO VOLUME ONE 























JWArioii iiAVisrcf^ 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

Types of African Races, ..... Frontispiece 

An Egyptian Temple, ....... 3 

A Copt, .......... 4 

Egyptian Ornaments, ....... 6 

A Jew of Cairo, ........ 8 

Egyptian Singers, . . . . . . . .13 

Egyptian Vase, . . . . . . • *14 

An Egyptian Chair, . . . . . . . • 15 

Scene on the Nile, . . . . . • • .18 

A Nubian, . . . . • • • • -25 

Dinka Huts, ......... 27 

Central Africa War Weapons, . . . . . *29 

Tattooed Warriors, ........ 30 

On the Shores of Lake Victoria Nyanza, . . . -33 

Princess and Warrior of Ugunda, . . . . • 34 

Audience Hall of the King, . . • . • -35 

Uganda Huts, 3 ^ 

An Abyssinian Warrior, ....... 40 

An Abyssinian King, . . . . • • • *41 

Abyssinian Crown, . . . • • • • -45 

Abyssinian Household, ....... 47 




































VI 


ILLUSTRATIONS 



PAGE 

Abyssinian Slave, ....... 

50 

The Virgin, ........ 

52 

A Sacred Ark, ........ 

53 

Wall Ornaments, ....... 

54 

Grave of Damara, ....... 

72 

The Zambesis, ........ 

76 

Utensils of the Caffres, ...... 

80 

Building the Bride’s Hut, ...... 

• 83 

A Native Warrior, ....... 

88 

Notable Chief and Warrior, . . 

. 89 

Agriculture under Difficulties, . . . . . 

92 

A Group of Bushmen, ...... 

93 

Caves of the Bushmen, ...... 

94 

A Civilized Bushman, ...... 

96 

The Slaves’ Hiding-place, ...... 

. 98 

A Europeanized Caffre, ...... 

100 

A Namaqua, ........ 

lOI 

Scene in Southwestern Africa, ..... 

102 

Damara Warrior and Maiden, ..... 

104 

Wooden Utensils of the Ovampos, .... 

106 

A Native Village, ....... 

108 

A Native at Livingstone’s Funeral, .... 

109 

Central African Manufactures, ..... 

111 

Types of the Congos, ...... 

. 114 

A Congo King, ........ 

. 115 

A Precious Pair, ....... 

. 117 

Killing Witches in West Africa, ..... 

. 119 

A Fetich Man on the Coast, ..... 

120 

A Group of Musicians, ...... 

. 123 

Head Dresses of the Congos, ..... 

126 

Congo Heads, ........ 

127 

Congo Shields, ........ 

129 

A Collection of Arrows, 

j • • * 

. 130 











ILLUSTRATIONS 


Vll 


PAGE 

Natives of Loango, . . . . . . . -131 

A Royal Pair, . . . . . . . . .132 

A Boat of the Warlike Congos, . . . . . .134 

A Carved Tusk, . . . . . . . -135 

Dreary Scene in Southwestern Africa, . . . .136 

Mountain Warriors, .... . 140 

A Native Cup, . . . . . . . .144 

In the Stocks, . . . . . . . . . 148 

A Village on the Grain Coast, . . . . . .151 

Scene in Sudan, ........ 164 

A Madagascan Lady, . . . . . . .190 

A Head-Hunter, ........ 196 

A Village Market House, ....... 202 

A Batta,.204 

A Javanese Plow, ........ 207 

A Native “Rig,” ........ 208 

A Javanese House, ........ 209 

A Javanese Fork, ........ 210 

A Javanese Loom, . . . . . . • .211 

A Malayan Prau, . . . . . . . .215 

A Native of Luzon, . . . . . . • .216 

Home Manufactures, . . . . . . .218 

Polynesian Weapons, . . . . . • .219 

A Feejee Chief, . . . . • • • .221 

A Chief’s House, ........ 222 

A Feejee Cannibal, ........ 223 

Polynesian Beauties, ........ 224 

A Feejeean Village Scene, ....... 225 

A Civilized Girl, ........ 226 

Women of Tonga, ........ 227 

Tongese Braided Work, . . . . . . .229 

Native Fashion, . . , . . . . .231 

A Samoan Girl, . . . . • • • *232 









ILLUSTRATIONS 


Vlll 


Of the King’s Party, . 

Head Protector, 

Native Idols, 

Tattooed Maoris, 

Wigs and Head Ornaments, 
A Papuan Warrior, 

A Temple on the Coast, 
Dancing Fiends, 

A Boat-Shaped Coffin, 

In Full Dress, . 

A Sea Coast House, . 

The Last of the Tasmanians, 
Two Views of the Queen, . 

A New Ireland Boy, . 

A New Irelander, 

An Australian Savage, 
Australian Boomerangs, 

On the Hunt, 

Corroboree, 

Traveling Women, 

Hatchets of the Australians, 
An Australian Camp, . 
Waiting for the River’s Fall, 
A West Australian Forest, . 

A Native Victorian, . 

A Tartar, .... 
Camel of Tartar Emigrant, 
Calmuck Tartars, 

Calmuck Dwellings, . 

A Samoyed Camp, 

An Ostiak, 

An Ostiak Family, 

A Vogul Encampment, 


PAGE 

233 

234 

236 

253 

240 

242 

243 

246 

247 
249 
253 

258 

259 

260 

261 
264 
269 

273 

274 
277 

285 

286 

287 

291 

292 

301 

302 

303 

306 

308 

310 

311 
314 











ILLUSTRATIONS ix 


PAGE 

Cape Washington, . , , , , . .318 

Laplanders, . » . , , « . . -319 

Lapland Sledge, 320 

Fishing in Lapland, . . , . . . , . . 324 

A Lapland Church, . . , . , . . . 326 

Native Siberians, . . . . . . . -330 

Spears, Baskets, Tobacco Pouch, Pipes, Gloves, etc., . -332 

A Yakut Woman, ........ 337 

A Tungoose, ......... 340 

Hunters of Siberia, ........ 342 

Siberian Dog Sledge, ........ 345 

Winter and Summer Huts, ...... 347 

Tchuktchis Children, ........ 348 

An Esquimaux Group, . . . . . . -353 

Starting on a Journey, . . . . . . • 35^ 

A Greenland House-Wife, ....... 360 

Labrador Esquimaux, ....... 364 

Indian Cards, Card-case, and F'ish-hook, Chilcat, Alaska, . 366 

Totem Poles and Indian Huts, Fort Mangell, Alaska, . . 368 

Indian Grave near Fort Mangell, Alaska, . . . .371 

•Front View of Muir Glacier, Glacier Bay, Alaska, . . 373 

A Sioux Warrior, ........ 380 

View from Top of Muir Glacier, Glacier Bay, Alaska, . . 3 ^^ 

A Mexican, . . • • • • • ‘ • 39^ 

A Mexican Girl, ........ 405 

ENGRAVINGS 

Africa, i 

A Central African Feast, . . • . • • .110 

Australia and Oceanica, . . • • • * • ^77 

North America, 3^5 


END OF ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOLUME ONE 












h 






















INTRODUCTION 


TTISTORY, in the most correct use of the word, means the prose 
^ ^ narrative of past events, as probably true as the fallibility of 
human testimony will allow. History reposes, however remotely, 
on contemporary witness to the fact related. Written records are 
not absolutely indispensable, as tradition may supply their place 
and represent authentic contemporary testimony. But tradition is 
insecure and apt to be equally inventive and oblivious. It is in 
the half-light of tradition that myth arises out of the creative 
fancy of man, and the difficulty of separating fact from fiction is 
often insurmountable. 

In all the records of ancient history there is a mixture of poet¬ 
ical fable; nor is it wholly to the historian’s immaturity of reason, 
or to the general superstition that prevailed in remote ages, that 
we are to ascribe this predilection for marvelous and wild narra¬ 
tive. The first transactions of men were more to astonish their 
fellow creatures by the vastness of their designs, and the difficul¬ 
ties they could overcome, than by any rational and extensive plan 
of public utility. 

This, however, brings us back to the consideration of real his¬ 
tory. Mere events, authentic or traditional, are not sufficient to 
constitute history. Many facts and dates are recorded with refer¬ 
ence to Egypt, China, and Babylonia in olden times, which are 
probably true, but these facts and dates are not sufficient to give 


Defini¬ 
tion and 
Sources 


Fable 


\ 


XI 


































































xii 


Introduc¬ 

tion 

History a 
Record of 
Social 
Move¬ 
ments 


No Ma¬ 
terials of 
History 
in Primi¬ 
tive 
Times 


Age and 
Area of 
History 


Types of 
History 


INTRODUCTION 


these countries a history. History is something more than a rec¬ 
ord lof events; it only attains its full stature when it not only 
records, but describes in considerable fulness, social events and 
evolution, when it marks change and growth, the movement of 
society from one phase to another. 

Therefore the field of history is very limited, both in time and 
space, in proportion to the length of human existence and the 
area of the earth’s surface occupied by man. Primitive and sav¬ 
age man has no history, because the struggle for existence con¬ 
sumed all his energies, and he had neither time nor faculty to 
think of himself as a social being, much less to make a record of 
social events. Even when nations have become partly civilized 
they were often incapable, not only of writing history, but of fur¬ 
nishing the material of it. Social evolution was so slow that it 
could hardly be said to move at all, and institutions and customs 
remained the same from one generation to the other. There was 
no incentive for men to describe their institutions and customs, 
because they knew of no conditions that were different, and they 
took all their surrounding circumstances as a matter of fact. Op¬ 
pressive tradition, such as was followed for centuries in China, 
affords no material for history. 

Looking at history in this light, namely, as a record of the civil¬ 
izing influences of the world, and the great movements which have 
tended to lift the human race from a lower to a higher state, the 
period of history covers only a little over four thousand years. As 
regards area, history long dwelt exclusively on the shores of that 
inland sea, which, if not the birthplace of the human race, have at 
least been the chief training ground of its early youth and vigorous 
manhood. Civilization subsequently spread from the Mediterranean 
to remote islands and continents unknown to the ancients, and 
history followed it. 

The earliest history was never critical and painstaking in the 
investigation of facts. Neither the historian nor his readers or 
hearers had reached a state of culture in which accuracy was 
highly valued. Its object was much more to charm the fancy, and 




INTRODUCTION 


stimulate the ambitions than to instruct the understanding. 
Striking pictures, dramatic situations, often told in dialogue, scenes 
in which virtue and vice were depicted on a colossal scale— these 
were the chief objects of the early historical writer, who mingled 
fact and fiction with the same grace as his brethren, the writers of 
the early epos and drama. The old type of history was a species 
of portrait-painting, in which the delineators often thought more of 
the brilliancy of their colors and the effectiveness of their pictures 
than of their exact truth. 

The new, or sociological type of history makes literary form 
secondary, but it is rich in research, and above all, it regards 
society as a great aggregate of forces moving according to laws 
special to it. This spirit of scientific research has made ancient 
history a reality, vivid in interest, and fruitful in knowledge, 
instead of the nebulous-unreality it had been before. The rejec¬ 
tion of the fabulous elements in the histories of Greece and Rome 
was the first step, but a long one, which it required many years 
and much effort to make. The next was to obtain a firm grasp of 
the idea that the Greeks and the Romans were living men, and 
not statues like the Elgin Marbles, and to look at their politics, 
institutions, and religions with the discriminating eye of common 
sense, and a real wish to see them as they were. Thus the 
sociological knowledge of the present has illuminated the past and 
given it a special interest. 

The results of the new style oi history are especially noticeable 
in the history of the Middle Ages. The chief difficulty was the 
papacy. This great center, around which the life of the Middle 
Ages revolved, was never known except in a degree which modern 
thought relegates to the absurd. It was not until the nineteenth 
century began to rise out of the chaos of the French Revolution 
that the immense part played by the church was clearly perceived. 
Innumerable old errors had to be unlearned, new truths had to be 
sought out and acquired, and above all was the repression of so 
many deeply rooted prejudices. The continuity of history was 
restored. 


* • • 

Xlll 


Introduc¬ 

tion 


Old Type 


New 

Type 


Investi¬ 

gation 

Has 

Restored 
the Con¬ 
tinuity of 
History 




XIV 


INTRODUCTION 


Introduc¬ 

tion 


Modern 

History 


Value of 
the Study 
of 

History 


Rollin’s 
Exor¬ 
dium on 
History 


With the atmosphere of the past cleared, we come to modern 
history, which claims our more particular regard. Herein is 
described those actions and events which have a necessary con¬ 
nection with the times in which we live, and which have a 
direct influence upon the government and constitution of our 
country. It unfolds the secret wheels of political intrigue, the 
artifices of diplomacy, and all those complications of interest which 
arise from national rivalship; while at the same time it lays before 
us the causes and consequences of great events, and edifies us 
by examples which come home to our understandings, and are 
congenial with our habits and feelings. 

Since we have this continuous story of civilization from the 
earliest historical times, we are able to trace many of the insti¬ 
tutions of our own period back to their very beginnings. This 
fact leads to a brief consideration of the value of the study of 
history. 

Beyond all other studies, history is calculated to enlighten the 
judgment and enlarge the understanding. Every page conveys 
some useful lesson, every sentence has its moral; and its range is 
as boundless as its matter is various. It is accordingly admitted, 
as an indisputable maxim, that there is no species of literary com¬ 
position to which the faculties of the mind can be more laudably 
directed, or from which more useful information may be derived. 
While it imparts to us a knowledge of man in his social relations, 
and thereby enables us to divest ourselves of many errors and 
prejudices, it tends to strengthen our abhorrence of vice, and 
creates an honorable ambition for the attainment of true greatness 
and glory. Even if considered as a mere source of rational amuse¬ 
ment, history will still be found infinitely superior to the extravagant 
fictions of romance, or the distorted pictures of living manners. 
Rollin made the following exordium, which is as just as it is elo¬ 
quent, as apposite as it is complete :— 

“ It is not without reason that history has always been consid¬ 
ered as the light of ages, the depository of events, the faithful evi¬ 
dence of truth, the source of prudence and good counsel, and the 






INTRODUCTION 


XV 


rule of conduct and manners. Confined without it to the bounds 
of the age and country wherein we live, and shut up within the 
narrow circle of such branches of knowledge as are peculiar to us, 
and the limit of our own private reflections, we continue in a kind 
of infancy, which leaves us strangers to the rest of the world, and 
profoundly ignorant of all that has preceded, or even now surrounds 
us. What is the small number of years that make up the longest 
life, or what the extent of country which we are able to progress 
or travel over, but an imperceptible point in comparison to the 
vast regions of the universe, and the long series of ages which 
have succeeded one another since the creation of the world ! And 
yet all we are capable of knowing must be limited to this imper¬ 
ceptible point, unless we call in the study of history to our assist¬ 
ance, which opens to us every age and every country, keeps up a 
correspondence between us and the great men of antiquity, sets all 
their action, all their achievements, virtues, and faults before our 
eyes; and, by the prudent reflections it either presents or gives us 
an opportunity of making, soon teaches us to be wise before our 
time, and is in a manner far superior to all the lessons of the 
greatest masters. . . . 

“ It is history which fixes the seal of immortality upon actions 
truly great, and sets a mark of infamy on vices which no after-age 
can ever obliterate. It is by history that mistaken merit and 
oppressed virtue appeal to the incorruptible tribunal of posterity, 
which renders them the justice their own age has sometimes 
refused them, and without respect of persons, and the fear of a 
power which subsists no more, condemns the unjust abuse of 
authority with inexorable rigor. . . . Thus history, when it is 
well taught, becomes a school of morality for all mankind. It 
condemns vice, throws off the mask from false virtues, lays open 
popular errors and prejudices, dispels the delusive charms of riches, 
and all the vain pomp which dazzles the imagination, and shows, 
by a thousand examples that are more availing than all reasonings 
whatsoever, that nothing is great and commendable but honor and 
probity. ” 


Introduc¬ 

tion 


History 
the True 
Judge 




XVI 


INTRODUCTION 


Introduc¬ 

tion 


Races of 
Mankind 


I 


Salient 
Points of 
Character 


Plan of 
Pre¬ 
senting 
Peoples 


It is impossible to gain a well-rounded conception of the history 
of a people without some knowledge of their race characteristics, 
their arts, and their methods of living. Moreover there are a great 
many peoples in the world who can not be said to form nations. 
They are yet in the tribal state, and have made only rudimentary 
progress on the road to civilization. In view of these facts two 
volumes are incorporated as a part of this history, which consider 
the races of men as such, wherever they are found. In these vol¬ 
umes the aim has been to picture life from the human standpoint, 
the framework being the surrounding conditions, such as striking 
physical features of a country, grand ruins, and magnificent build¬ 
ings. The idea has been to seize upon the salient points of a peo¬ 
ple’s character as evinced by their dress, home life, religion, 
superstitions, and government, and whether savage or civilized, 
present them so that the good and bad will both appear. 

The peoples of Africa, Polynesia, and Asia are first considered, 
then the aborigines of America and the peoples of the Arctic 
regions, and lastly the various nations of Europe. The contrast 
and peculiarities of human life among the highly civilized peoples 
do not stand out in such bold relief as among the ancient and 
savage families of mankind; little in fact can be said which would 
throw any new light upon the habits of people whose ways are 
open to the world. In a certain sense also private life is secondary 
to governments, literature, art, iudustry, commerce, and mechanics. 
The more advanced European and American races, as the centuries 
go by, are coming to have general traits of character; for their 
civilization is essentially the same, but their literature, their modes 
of political development, their rivers, mountains, valleys, and 
their public and national works — the earmarks of civilization — 
are the grounds of contrast which appear to be especially a part of 
the Indo-European order of things. 

In presenting the different peoples of the world we have followed 
the emigration of the Semitic, Ethiopic, and Nigritic races into 
Africa, tracing their course down the Nile to the eastern coast of 
the continent; we have sketched the lives of the people of southern. 




INTRODUCTION 


central, western, and northern Africa, as they are found grouped 
in ethnological families. It often happens, as in the case of Africa, 
that geographical and political divisions conform to distinct races 
and tribes; for example, southern Africa is the home of the Zulu 
Caffres, Lower Guinea of the Congo Caffres, and Upper Guinea 
and Sudan of the Negroes; yet invariably we have been careful to 
show how the geographical division, the country, or the state is 
founded upon the race or tribe, and that the fortunes of war and 
the advance or retreat of the world’s families are all that determine 
political boundaries. 

The islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans are passed next 

in review, including the Malay Peninsula, Madagascar, Borneo, 

Sumatra, and Java. We have noted the practises of the cannibals 

of the Fiji Islands, the Papuans of New Guinea, the natives of 

Australia, and many other tribes of less importance. In the 

% 

islands of the sea, as on the African continent, we find savage life 
vainly opposing itself to the forces of civilization, and either 
furiously going down before it of dying a lingering death. 

Returning again to Asia, “the mother of peoples,” we start 
among the Tartars, and range over a tremendous expanse follow¬ 
ing the streams of Tartar and Mongol blood to the Arctic Ocean, in 
Europe, and to the Arctic Ocean in Asia, across the Bering Strait 
to the North American continent into Greenland. Again we have 
noted the countless tribes of the Russian empire and the 
Esquimaux of both hemispheres, and the various tribes of the 
Indians of America are passed in review. 

It is not within the province of this work to discuss whether the 
billions of people of the great regions of eastern and southern Asia 
had their origin in Asia Minor or on the continent of Lemuria, 
which is now said to be under the ocean. In discussing these peo¬ 
ples, including the descendants of the ancient Hindus, the Indo- 
Chinese, and the Japanese, and in “shaking up Asiatic civilization 
generally,” a modern view is given, with sufficient historical infor¬ 
mation to make it intelligible. 

We are lastly concerned with the peoples of the great European 


xvii 


Introduc¬ 

tion 


The 

Islanders 


Races of 
Asia 




xviii 


InTRODI'C- 

TIO.N 


Europe 


History 

of 

Nations 


Plan of 
Treating 
History 
of 

Nations 


Six 

Grand 

Divisions 


INTRODUCTION 

nations, presenting them not so much from an ethnological stand¬ 
point as with the idea of showing their strata of society, and their 
methods of private life in both the cities and country. 

With this information before us we come to the consideration 
of the national growth of those peoples that have progressed suffi¬ 
ciently to have a well defined and fully organized government. To 
be sure, a number of these nations which we have presented have 
passed away, and their history is of importance to us to-day only 
so far as the great principles which they originated, or at least first 
gave to history, figure in the control of the affairs of nations of 
our own time. 

Our plan of treatment has been, not to divide the history of the 
various nations of the world into ancient, medieval, and modern, 
but to treat each one as a unit, presenting its national life from 
the earliest known facts concerning it to the time of its fall, or, if 
living, to the present day. This plan is not without its defects, but 
we believe its merits outweigh its faults. The destiny of nations 
is determined by the intercontact of nations, and so it may be said 
that it is impossible to write the history of a nation without taking 
into account the general trend of events of the particular age under 
consideration; but this we have avoided, as will be seen. 

We have divided the various nations of the world into six grand 
divisions, beginning with the “Earliest Civilization,” which treats 
of the first nations of which we have any record. Then follows, 
more or less arbitrarily, the “Asiatic Civilization,” in which we 
have considered the countries of eastern, central, and southern 
Asia. Our next division is that of “Europe — Ancient and Mod¬ 
ern,” beginning with Greece, and following the stream of civiliza¬ 
tion as it flowed from Athens to the uttermost limits of the conti¬ 
nent. The next division is “Africa,” with all its ancient states, 
its independent states of to-day, its protectorates, and its depend¬ 
encies. Our fifth division is “Australia” and the more important 
islands of the Pacific Ocean. Our last division comprises “Amer¬ 
ica,” giving first a general view of the western hemisphere, then 
the various states of South America, Central America, the impor- 




INTRODUCTION 


XIX 


tant islands and groups of islands of the West Indies, and closing 
with the nations of North America. 

In all of the areas inhabited by the nations presented in each 
of the divisions, there have been great movements which have 
affected the whole area, as well as all or parts of the nations. 
It will be seen readily that in following out the nations individually 
it would be impossible to present a correct view of a movement 
which affected a whole continent, therefore we have introduced 
each of these divisions with a general view of the historical 
development of the grand division comprising the nations which 
it covers. We have acted upon the statement made by Edward 
Freeman to the effect that “without clear notions of general 
history, the history of particular countries can never be rightly 
understood. ” 

Thus we come to the history of our own country, which is 
treated extensively in the last six volumes. In the volumes upon 
the races of mankind, and upon the nations (excepting the United 
States), it has been our endeavor to bring to a focus the sum of 
the intelligence and well-being in the various gradations of society; 
in other words, to present a comprehensive view of the world in 
its present stage of civilization. In telling the story of the various 
nations in ancient and modern times, our main idea has been to 
bring out forcibly and clearly the great principles of government 
and society as they arose and developed, and were finally adopted 
in the institutions of the present time; and since, as we have 
observed before, it is impossible to gain a comprehensive knowledge 
of any particular country without a knowledge of general history, 
we have made the first volumes in reality an introduction to the 
history of the United States. This, after all, is to Americans the 
most important of all, providing it is rightly understood. It is 
upon our knowledge of the history of our own country, which has 
been worked out partly upon new and individual lines, that the 
safety of the nation rests. The great fundamental principles upon 
which the government is founded, once clearly understood by the 
people, constitute the greatest safeguard that any nation could 


Introduc¬ 

tion 

Great 

General 

Move¬ 

ments 


Our Own 
Country 




XX 


INTRODUCTION 


Introduc¬ 

tion 


possibly have. It is only by a full understanding of our institutions 
as they are, or as they have grown from infancy, or as they have 
been imported from other countries and developed within our own, 
that the ship of state can be safely guided in the future. With a 
full knowledge of the constitution of our institutions at present, we 
shall be better prepared to discern their qualities, good and bad, 
and to advance the former and reform the latter. 

Chicago, June /, i8gg. 








"rMj 


^ I 









.[JC 


ti>'' 


PV 1 


'S^ 




[Wf 











> , 


l**f X* 










Si 





>i? 


1 ^ 


v^. *J 


~''»j» '■. - w-. •' i ■■ ,1 

.^- — 





■J 3 




< • 









g>'. ■> ; ^'.-^MMi: 



*k.'v, • 

a'/',— -> • » 

' 5 p“ 

• jAwr , -!*»; 

’•te'st 


“tiW ^*' >? <• 


■7 • ii'Pih > ’ , 

rtit: (‘•1 >?. “ 







-» ■ ' .■' • ’^'' 'i*> .' 








#i^' 


-t. «■:. 




k' 



. I. 
























A LAND OF DECAY. 


BIRTH-PLACE OF RACES. 

DURING th rough a narrow mountain gorge into the broad 
plains of Mesopotamia, the River Euphrates was once the 
patron of a most ancient, energetic and splendid civilization. 
With the Tigris, it is now the boundary of a prolific land of 
decay. From those plains once poured forth vast floods of 
people and yet those left behind were the founders of glo¬ 
rious empires, the builders of Nineveh and Babylon. These 
mighty capitals are now little more than unsightly mounds 
of clay and sun-dried brick, among which dirty Arabs are 
delving for the building material of modern houses. From 
near the ruins of Babylon looms up a gigantic mound, standing 
alone in the midst of a vast plain — the tower of Babel ! you recog¬ 
nize it at once. Other mounds of lesser note, now scattered, now 
grouped, now in the form of triangles; shafts of columns; Assyrian 
f^orts; rocks crowned with ancient castles; old towns filled with Roman 
and Saracenic architecture ; groves of palm trees; clouds of scorch¬ 
ing sand borne by the south winds; decaying walls of gigantic canals, 
vainly appealing to Turkish ''enterprise;" a tribe of restless Arabs 
with their camels, horses, sheep and women, their crude furniture 
and all their effects, seeking fresh pasture; answering sheets of 
flame rising from the fertile river tracts and springing from the hatred 
of the harvesters who have gathered their grain and are burning all 
green forage to keep it from those same thievish Arabs; a wandering 
dervish, only interrupting his prayers to light his pipe, asks for gifts from 
the faithful, or to search for vermin; the sound of an Arab water-wheel 
in the distance; a Turkish fortress perched upon a storm-beaten mound 
inclosing the ruins of centuries; narrow roads hanging to the mountain 
sides and dropping to the plain below; gorgeous mountain tints painted 
by a bold eastern sun and flung upon the background of a soft eastern 
sky; a valley in which nestles a village where Noah is said to have planted 
his vineyard; a dyke built by Nimrod, the mighty hunter; a griffin’s 

I 































































2 


EGYPT. 


cave, at the mouth of which the Tigris roars-and foams — such is the 
country in which rose and fell the oldest known civilization of the 
world. 

Leaving the Euphrates river we enter the Syrian desert, and mid¬ 
way between the great river and the Mediterranean sea, in a small oasis, 
find the famed ruins of Palmyra; the “ Tadmor in the Desert.” Across 
to Baalbek—grand ruins again! The omnipresent Arab is there also, 
as at Palmyra, sheltered by his crazy hut and raising his corn and olives 
among the ruins. Striking south, we are still oppressed by ruins —some 
thirty of them — before we skirt the coast of the Dead Sea, and cross a 
desert tract of country and the Suez canal into the land of pyramids. 
What more natural than that we should journey from the land of ancient 
Assyria to the land of Egypt; for we are following in the footsteps of 
the races and families of men, and the ancient Egyptians are supposed 
to have preceded us in that little trip, overland, by some thousands of 
years. 


EGYPT. 

Straight toward the Mediterranean sea a black line shoots across 
the desert waste, binding together a chain of lakes and lagoons, and 
marking the threshold to the land of shadows and sunshine. Another 
line winds toward Cairo, and still another seems to shoot more directly 
and with more momentum toward that great emporium to which our 
journey lies. In the ship canal constructed for the commerce of the 
world, and in the fresh-water canal built for the convenience of the 
isthmus inhabitants, are repeated the performances of the ancient 
Egyptians and Persians, accomplished before the wild Scythians ever 
dreamed of crossing the Bosphorus and laying the foundation of the 
most advanced of European civilization. Traces of that first canal are 
found deep in the desert sand of the isthmus country, where Egypt’s 
frontier was threatened by those same savage tribes who now appear as 
Frenchmen, as Englishmen, as Germans, as representatives of nations 
which have sprung from the decay of the old. Here were her fortresses 
and from the banks of the Nile came fresh water, provisions and reen¬ 
forcements, if necessary, to the defenders of the civilization of those 
days ; and Persia had her ship canal from sea to sea; but it was left to 
these days to shoot the railroad across the desert into the very haunts 
of antiquity, into the very shadows of the Pyramids. But we 
pass them by, and the splendid mosques of Cairo, and the tombs 
of its rulers, and the beautiful villas in the suburbs, and ancient 





AN EGYPTIAN TEMPLE 









































































4 


EGYPT.' 



glory, and present attempts at magnificence, and go into the 
“ by-ways and hedges ” to get acquainted with the people. We will 
have nothing to do with the Turk, for he is not a native ; although he 
has imposed many of his customs among the Egyptians. We shall 
avoid the Italians, French, English, Armenians and other nationalities 
who live in the “Frank” quarter of Cairo and Alexandria, and who 


are traveling up and down the Nile country, viewing curiosities, traffic- 
ing in precious stones, or awaiting the return of the pilgrims from Mecca 
laden with the wealth of the far East; who are the agents of commer¬ 
cial houses in their native lands, or the principals themselves in this 
central station of the overland route to India. For the present we 


A COPT. 






















EGYPT. 


5 


have no interest in these people, except in so far as they have relations 
to a very intelligent, courteous, industrious and humble class of the 
Egyptians, the Copts. They number about one-fifteenth of the entire 
population of the country, and are the sole remnant of the ancient 
Egyptians. In Lower Egypt they are of a yellowish tinge, which shades 
into a dark brown further south. The Copts inhabit small sections of 
the larger cities, while in Upper Egypt they have settled whole towns 
and villages. What is their business ? They are clerks and account¬ 
ants in government and mercantile offices ; they are the Christian priests 
of Egypt, cheerful, humane and hospitable, with their convents and 
monasteries scattered along the Nile. They are the scribes, priests and 
scholars of Egypt, and an ink-horn at the girdle (for they wear the 
turban and flowing robe) is a masculine badge, as is the cross, tattooed 
upon the hand of the Copt woman, her mark of honor. The Coptic 
priesthood have considerably lapsed from the rigor of their religious 
observances as primitive Christians, although in the regular monasteries 
their discipline is still severe. The dress is a simple skirt of coarse 
woolen fabric. Only on feast days are small quantities of animal food 
allowed, the ordinary food being black bread and lentils. The convents, 
when not situated on some inaccessible rock, are surrounded by a high 
and strong wall which has only a single iron door, and in some cases is 
wholly without opening, the means of entrance being a pulley from the 
top. 

The religious rites of the Copt are many and severe, the services 
lasting many hours at a time. Seven times daily he repeats his Pater 
Noster, and begs for Divine mercy forty-one. The churches are deco¬ 
rated with ornaments of ostrich eggs and divided into four compart¬ 
ments. Eurthest from the doorway is the chancel, or sanctuary, where 
the eucharist is celebrated, and which is hidden behind a high screen. 
Next is the room where the priests interpret in Arabic the Coptic 
service to the singers, the leading men of the congregation and to 
strangers. In the third compartment are the mass of the congregation, 
moving round in their bare feet to pray before the pictures of the saints, 
or leaning upon long crutches for support. The veiled women occupy 
the fourth room, which is dimly lighted, and usually situated in the 
extreme rear of the church. 

The domestic life of the Copts is very similar to that of the Arabs 
who have settled along the Nile. They have adopted also many of the 
Moslem customs, such as the veiling of the faces of many of their 
women. Some Coptic women are allowed to go out from time to tiine 
and even to visit and shop pretty freely. Others, again, are as closely 


6 


EGYPT 


secluded as if they were actual denizens of a harem. Nearly all keep 
black female slaves instead of hiring servants. 

There are some peculiarities in the Coptic marriage ceremony. 



EGYPTIAN ORNAMENTS. 


however. The bride, unlike the Moslem, has no canopy to cover hei 
in the procession to the bridegroom’s house. At the preliminary feast. 


















THE NILE AND EGYPT, 


7 


pigeons are released from pies and fly around the room shaking bells 
attached to their feet. After the marriage ceremony, the priests set on 
the foreheads of the new couple a thin gilt diadem. ' In entering her 
husband’s house, the bride must step over the blood of a newly killed 
lamb. 1 he whole pageant, after lasting eight days, ends with a grand 
feast at the bridegroom’s house. This is the custom, of course, among 
the well-to-do classes, but certainly would not prevail in the hut of a 
poor chicken hatcher or fellah (farmer). But we shall soon be among 
these poor swarthy sons of the Nile and it will become evident that they 
could not be the originators of pageants and feasts of superlative 
grandeur. 


THE NILE AND EGYPT. 

It is impossible for the humblest Egyptian to omit the Nile as an 
element in his life ; for in her bosom lie life and death. Food, drink 
and clothing spring from her brooding over the soil. “ May Allah bless 
thee as he blessed the course of the Nile ! ” exclaims the poor woman 
on its banks to the traveler. “ Mohammed would not have gone to 
Paradise had he drunk of the Nile,” says an Arabian proverb. She 
seems a living, moving thing — either a benefactor or a monster ; her 
benefactions, generally, make her the power for good in Egypt and an 
all-pervading influence of blessedness. A few days in the spring and 
fall she rests from her labors. Then the tributaries from the mountains 
and table-lands of Abyssinia and from the recesses of Central Africa 
commence to trickle into her mighty channel and the great event, older 
than the pyramids and yet ever momentous, is soon recorded in Cairo. 
Across a branch of the river, near the metropolis, is a small island, in 
which is sunk a square wall or chamber. In the center of this chamber 
is a graduated pillar divided into cubits of about twenty-two inches each. 
Sometime in June the water commences to rise in the pillar, or nilo- 
meter, and Egyptian life again hangs upon the pleasure of old mother 
Nile. Every morning four official criers proclaim throughout Cairo the 
height to which the water has risen. When the sixteenth cubit is 
reached, it is quite certain that there will be a harvest and the Sultan’s 
land tax is levied—what portion of it is collected from the shrewd natives 
is another thing. While the water line is creeping between the six¬ 
teenth and the eighteenth cubits, Cairo and Egypt are breathless with 
interest and anxiety. A straggling street runs from the city down to 
Fostat, its suburb and port. From Fostat a canal of irrigation runs 
throuo-h Cairo and is continued some miles beyond. It is believed to 




8 


'THE NILE AND EGYPf. 


form part of an ancient canal, traces of which we found in the desert 
sands toward Suez. As the water line in the nilometer rises toward the 
eighteenth cubit, this becomes a locality of supreme interest. The talk 
even among the counting houses and government offices ; among the 
Europeans with their Coptic clerks; in the public gardens haunted by 
French and German strollers ; in the bazaars filled with the goods and 
nationalities of the East; around the mosques in the city, and the cof¬ 
fee booths and fairs in the suburbs; among the serpent charmers and 
storytellers—the talk of Cairo itself is plentifully interspersed with refer¬ 



ences to the probable outcome of the rise. Famine has already been 
averted, and the Sultan has his tax — on paper. It now remains to be 
seen whether the Nile will come up to the standard of abundance which 
is marked on the fascinating nilometer by the eighteenth cubit, and 
which determines whether the pacha shall cut the banks which confine 
the waters and lead it into this grand canal, and thence into six thousand 
other artificial channels and reservoirs scattered throughout the region. 
Millions of anxious fellaheen and Copts, and wandering bands of Bedou- 













Tilt: NILE AND EGYPT. 


Q 


ins and gypsies, are at the same time casting anxious eyes upon the 
broad, swelling bosom of the Nile, or, remembering her as generally 
kind, already see her muddy waters depositing their magic loam upon 
the parched land, and the fruits and grains of the world springing into 
green life. Bounty or famine depends upon what has been going on in 
the far-away regions of Central Africa and the mountains of Abyssinia. 

Nature has been good, and the rains have fallen which bring the 
waters of the Nile up to the eighteenth cubit of the nilometer. The 
command is given by the authorities of Cairo. The pacha, attended by 
his grandees, cuts the confining mounds, and another harvest and season 
of plenty is assured. All classes now flock to the river side and, it may 
be, the whole night is spent in festivity. Like scenes of jubilee occur 
for hundreds of miles along the banks of the god-like river. Between 
September 20 and 30 the river is at its greatest height, remains stationary 
for about fifteen days and then usually commences to fall. Should the 
waters rise above twenty-four feet then the river ceases to be a “good 
Nile,” and woe be to the little villages which lie in the level strip along 
her banks should she go far above that point. The whole valley of the 
Nile is now a vast lake, and as the inundated country at length appears 
it is seen to be covered with a layer of rich loam, averaging not more 
than one-twentieth of an inch. The strip fertilized is only two or three 
miles in breadth, but the soil, thus annually replenished, has filled the 
granaries of eastern and western kingdoms, and as long as the Nile does 
her duty, cannot be impoverished. When the waters recede, vegetation 
springs up, crisp and green. The beautiful date palms, which are so 
sympathetic, look brighter and more martial as they rise from the river 
side or protectingly group themselves around little hamlets or villages. 
The sturdy peasant, or fellah, comes.from his mud hut and casts his 
wheat and barley upon the loam. Later, he drives his sheep, goats and 
oxen upon the “sown” grain to trample it in. In some places plough¬ 
ing is thought necessary, but is usually dispensed with. Beans, peas, 
lentils, clover, flax, lettuce, hemp, tobacco and water-melons go through 
with much the same process, and yet the fellah confidently expects, from 
past experience, to harvest good crops within three or four months. In 
summer, chiefly by artificial irrigation, maize, onions, sugar cane, cotton, 
coffee, indigo and madder are brought from the bountiful soil, and tem¬ 
perate and tropical fruits vie with one another in lusciousness. 

April, the great harvest month, sees the fields of Egypt white with 
barley and golden with wheat. Later appear the tiny green oranges, 
which do not mature for six months. Then the corn, which crackles 
with dryness as it is heaped upon the camels, is carried off to be 


lo 


THE FELLAHEEN. 


threshed. Seated in his wooden chair the peasant drives his rude cart 
round and round over the grain. Some of the wealthy land owners have 
introduced modern threshing machines, but this primitive object is still 
as familiar a sight as the poor fellah who has abandoned his desert for 
the garden spots of Egypt. His wants are few, however, — “ a draught 
of Nile water, a handful of lentils, or a piece of bread made like a pan¬ 
cake and tough as wash-leather”—and, since fuel costs nothing, he gets 
along very well. He has also various crude devices for irrigating his 
land. A large wheel may be run out into the river and, with its hollow 
paddles, turned by the current. The water is thus caught up and 
emptied into a trench or tank on the bank. Or our Egyptian farmer 
may call the creaking “sakieh” into service — a series of cogwheels 
brought to bear upon an endless string of leathern vessels which empty 
their contents into a pool. Over the wheels is a thatched roof, and 
under the roof camels or buffaloes are plodding around a beaten path. 

Thus is revealed the motive power. Erom the pool the water is car¬ 
ried off on its refreshing errand by a wooden shaft. Ruder, but more 
common than these quite-mechanical contrivances is an elevating 
machine consisting of a long pole working on a pivot, a lump of clay or a 
stone at one end and a bucket at the other, the whole arranofement beino* 
fastened to a simple framework of logs. Thousands of these “re-formed” 
Arabs — naked or half-naked men, women and children—virtually spend 
their lives before their “shadoof” in dipping water from the Nile to irri¬ 
gate the fields. The water which is thus poured into trenches on the 
bank runs into small channels or ridges of earth which divide the land 
into squares. The cultivator uses his feet to regulate the flow of water 
to each part. By a dexterous movement of his toes, he forms a tiny 
embankment in one of the trenches, or removes the obstruction, or makes 
an aperture in one of the ridges, or closes it up again, as the condition of 
the crop requires. After all their labor when the grain is about ready to 
be harvested the vast flocks of geese, wild duck, hawks, pigeons, and 
cranes which darken the sky, may threaten a complete destruction of 
their crop. At these times, instead of scarecrows, the fellaheen place 
small stands or platforms in the fields, from which young boys armed 
with slings do wonderful execution. 


THE EELLAHEEN. 

Next to the birds, the greatest enemies of the fellaheen are the tax 
collectors, who do not hesitate to vigorously apply the stick when they 
find an unusually stubborn subject; and after the application of such 





THE FELLAHEEN. 


1 1 

forcible arguments, if he still refuses to disgorge the coin which is clearly 
due the Sultan, as proven by the nilometer’s record, his wife and his 
neighbors exalt him as a hero and a patriot. Their many tricks to evade 
the dues, which trickery they consider one of the paramount duties of 
life, are illustrative of their many-sided characters. Some years ago the 
tax upon country produce brought into cities was so increased as to be 
really a burden upon our rural friends. At the station where two coun¬ 
try roads meet, a poor fellah would be seen dancing about “hopping 
mad,” because he had been forced to pay more than he expected, or had 
been caught at some of his evasive tricks. But after swearing and lament¬ 
ing in his native tongue, he would re-load his ass, throw off all his 
burdens of spirit and proceed with as unruffled a countenance as though 
every tax fiend in Egypt had started for Constantinople. Occasionally, 
however, they do escape the sharp-eyed officials, though this is not the 
case in the following instance. A funeral procession enters the city by 
the chief country road, the chanting mollahs (religious doctors) walking 
behind, accompanied by men carrying the coffin with a red shawl over it, 
as is the usual custom. But the official scents somethinof in the wind 
which is not a badly preserved corpse, and orders a halt and an investiga¬ 
tion. The coffin, which in the East is only covered with a pall, is found 
to be filled with cheese! If the cheese had been a corpse it would have 
entered the city free of duty. Neither are the fellaheen always honest in 
their dealings with private parties. A traveler tells the story that he 
once observed a large heap of little clay balls on the banks of the Nile 
which, evidently, were not formed by nature. He asked a fellah who 
stood near what they were for, as there were two or three such heaps. 
“Oh,” he coolly replied, “they are for mixing with corn. Many boats 
laden with corn stop here.” A boatman added that the village was 
famous for a peculiar kind of clay, of a corn color, but weighing heavier 
than the grain. 

As a rule, however, the fellaheen, who comprise four-fifths of the 
Egyptian population, are honest, lazy, patient, merry and domestic. 
They are the brawn of Egypt and cling jealously to her most ancient 
customs, strenuously opposing the introduction of implements of modern 
invention even when the attempt is made by their Turkish masters. 
The men average five feet eight inches in height, and have broad chests, 
muscular limbs and generally black, piercing eyes, straight thick noses, 
large but well-formed mouths, full lips, beautiful teeth and fine, oval faces. 
Their dress rarely consists of more than a shirt, leaving bare the arms, 
legs and breast. The distinctive garb of the fellaha, or peasant’s wife, is 
the dark-blue cotton and black muslin veil. In the towns many wear 


12 


THE FELLAHEEN. 


prints of various colors for trousers, and for the short waistcoat without 
sleeves, which is worn in winter as an additional garment. The favorite 
hues are orange, pink and yellow, or magenta crimson. The older 
women, even among quite poor people, frequently dye their grey locks 
a tawny orange color. When we speak of the ‘‘older women ” we mean 
those far this side of thirty. From twelve — the usual age of marriage — 
to eighteen or nineteen nearly all the women are splendidly formed 
and many of them are real beauties, but after that they rapidly wither. 

THEIR WIVES. 

Having introduced the fellah and spoken of his occupation and dis¬ 
position, it is no more than just that we should do the same for his wife. 
While he is abroad tending his cattle or sheep, looking after his crops, 
selling fodder, fruit, milk or vegetables, or looking after the irrigation of 
his land, we shall enter his home, meet his wife and family, and see how 
and where they live. 

The houses of the fellaheen are all of the same general type, the 
wealthier of them, of course, living in a large mud “mansion” instead 
of occupying one about four feet in height. The well-to-do may have 
carpets and mattresses, little coffee cups and some brass cooking vessels 
instead of a sleeping mat, a water jug and a few rude kitchen utensils; 
and their daily bill of fare may include more items than coarse bread and 
onions, cheese, dates, beans and rice. In some of the houses of the 
more pretentious peasants there is a separate apartment, called “ hareem,” 
for the women ; but it is usually dirty and disorderly and a pitiful par¬ 
ody upon the magnificence of its Moslem prototype. The wife of the 
rich fellah displays gold ornaments, a brocaded silk vest, a black muslin 
veil and, on special occasions, trousers; the poor fellaha has her silver 
bracelets and her dark cotton garments, often thin and rao-aed 

As soon as it is light the poor woman gets up from her mat, spread 
in the low one-room hut, and shakes herself; or, if the weather is hot, 
she has been sleeping outside, with her family. Having thus completed 
her toilet, she and her husband and children gather round a small earthen 
dish containing boiled beans and oil, pickles or chopped herbs, green 
onions or carrots. Possibly the family do not go to all this trouble, but 
each takes what pleases him, when he likes, the substantial part of the 
food being a coarse kind of bread in which is mixed some most bitter 
seeds which seem to immensely tickle the palate of the average Egyp¬ 
tian. The father now, in all probability, goes to his work, and the 
mother, if she has none to do, wanders away to gossip with the neicxh- 




EGYPTIAN SINGER 







































































































































































































































































































































































































































14 


THE FELLAHEEN. 


bors, leavine the children to roll in the dust or otherwise shift for them- 
selves. If she has no neighbors and lives in the country, she may go off 
with her husband and the children to assist him in drawing water to irri¬ 
gate their land. If it is baking day, or she has some other simple 
household duty to perform, she deposits her infant (in appearance a heap 
of dirty rags) upon the first spot which strikes her i^^g 
eyes, when the idea comes to her. It may be on 
a heap of rubbish, with the sun beating down 
upon it or the flies swarming over it. If she is a 
country fellaha working with her husband, the 
infant may go down in the mud. Should she be 
eating an onion, or a pickle, or a raw carrot, and 
the baby cries — and has teeth — she will, as likely 
as not, fill its little mouth with whatever she is 
enjoying. But bread-making day has really arrived, 
and approaching the windowless mud-hut, with 
its wooden door and huge wooden key, we find 
that the woman has brouorht the strength of the 
whole family to bear upon her task. Perhaps the 
smaller children and an old grandmother are pick¬ 
ing and cleaning the corn, the older boys or the 
father carrying it off to be ground and bringing 
back the flour. A grown daughter or a sister is 
sifting the flour and with the fellahas assistance 
mixing the leaven, working up the dough and shap¬ 
ing it into round cakes. These are then baked in 
the mud oven of the hut, or, if the fellaha lives in 
a village, the batch may be taken to the public 
oven. 

When evening comes a pretense is usually 
made to unite the family. They sit in a circle, often 
on the ground — mother, father, children, sister 
and grandmother — and dip their cakes of bread 
into a vegetable mess before them, contained in a 
coarse earthen pan. They eat in comparative 
silence, often, and when each is satisfied he gets Egyptian vase 
up and goes away. Sometimes the man eats alone, or with his sons • and 
the women finish the bowl. But this practice obtains only among those 
upon whom the Moslem customs have a strong hold. If the fellah fam¬ 
ily, In whose house we visit, is above the average in respectability, after 
supper is finished, wife, daughter or slave brings in a basin and pours water 





















EGYPTIAN SCPIOOLS. 


15 


over the hands. Whether the family sleep indoors or out, depends, 
principally, upon the season of the year. But let them sleep, for the 
present, wherever they are and whoever they are — whether the Mos¬ 
lem who has gone through with his evening devotions on a carpet 
spread on the ground, or the Coptic Christian who has said his prayers 
and counted his beads forty and one times during the day. 


EGYPTIAN SCHOOLS. 


In many of the villages along the Nile, Moslem and Copt dwell in 
comparative peace, the men working together in the fields and their 
children attending the same school, when one has been established in a 
rural district by some European missionary. The boys, however, far 

outnumber the girls, from the fact that 
maidens are more useful at home than their 
brothers ; that they are called away from 
school before they have made much prog¬ 
ress, to become wives, and that Moslem 
Egyptians are generally imbued with the 
Turkish indifference to female educa¬ 
tion and advancement. The little girls 
attend in loose frocks called “ gellebeehs,” 
with mmslin or gauze veils, slippers in 
winter, and in summer wooden clogs 
which are kicked off when they seat them- 
selves. In the native schools little is 
taimht besides the Koran and the merest 

o 

elements of arithmetic. Though the 
school-master may be blind, if he can 
repeat the Moslem bible without stum¬ 
bling, the permanency of his position is 
AN EGYPTIAN CHAIR. assurecl. The school is generally attached 

to the village mosque, which is built of mud with a white-washed spire. 
Its locality can be ascertained beyond a doubt by the tremendous hub¬ 
bub which always proceeds from a Moslem school; for all those who are 
learning to read are sitting upon the ground with the school-master, vig¬ 
orously rocking their bodies back and forth, and reciting their lessons 
from their wooden tablets and at the top of their voices. Before the 
older pupils, on little desks made of palm sticks, are copies of the Koran 
or some of its thirty sections. They also are going through with the 
same form of gymnastics, which is thought to be an aid to the memory. 












GLIDING UP THE NILE. 


l6 

In the small towns and villages the masters of the schools are nearly 
as ignorant as the pupils, but manage by their native shrewdness to hide 
their lack of learning. Naturally the “ salary ” is a mere nothing. But 
in Cairo, where the course of instruction is somewhat broader, the 
remuneration to the school-master is correspondingly greater ; from the 
parent of each pupil there is sent to him, every Thursday, what would 
be equivalent to three cents. The master of a school attached to a 
mosque or public building, in Cairo, also receives yearly a piece of white 
muslin for a turban, a piece of linen and a pair of shoes. Each 
boy receives, at the same time, a linen skull cap, eight or nine yards 
of cotton cloth, half a piece of linen, a pair of shoes, and in some 
cases from three to six cents. These presents are supplied by funds 
bequeathed to the school. Although several Sultans of enlightened 
views have attempted to reform the cause of education in Egypt, they 
have found it a graceless task, the prejudice and ignorance of the bulk 
of the population being as firmly set against any innovation here as they 
are in the field of agriculture. So the boy continues to shout his les¬ 
sons, and the poor little maiden is often not allowed to know much of 
her Koran, for, when a mere child, she is hurried away from home to 
wed somebody whom, perchance, she has never seen. In a few short 
years, when she begins to fade, she fails to understand the cause of the 
great rejoicing which then took place ; or of the bright-hued procession 
which followed her red silk canopy, under which she herself walked cov* 
ered from head to foot with a large red shawl ; or why discordant bands 
of music and sweetly tinkling singers should do their best to celebrate 
the event, as if her world did not know that marriage was the stepping- 
stone to dismal, neglected old age. 

GLIDING UP THE NILE. 

In this general view of the customs, dispositions and daily life of the 
Copts and fellaheen, who really are the two components of the modern 
Egyptians, we have failed to even touch upon salient points, which 
to omit, would leave the picture of the Land of the Nile and 
its people incomplete and colorless. We have got acquainted with 
some of the people, so that they do not seem like strangers to us, and 
now must just skim the surface of their mysterious country—another 
land of decay—stopping at a point or two which is typical of their 
modern institutions. As you pass through the delta of the Nile, the 
flocks of pelican, wild duck and other fowl make the waters hum and 
you might imagine, if it were not for that narrow strip of desert, that you 



GLIDING UP THE NILE. 


17 

had by mistake wandered into the State of Louisiana. The tremendous 
fields of grain which, In season, would be stretching down to the river s 
edge for three miles on either hand, would also soon dispel the illusion 
caused by the presence of these myriads of water fowl. Alexandria, 
a strange combination of decay and life, being left behind, the fertile 
strip of country grows quite narrow as Cairo comes Into view—Cairo, 
with Its dark and gloomy streets. Its great mosques and Its seven miles 
of area which is the focal point of three distinct civilizations. The 
slaves of Africa, the spices and fabrics of the East and the gold of 
Europe are all cast Into Cairo, and a tremendous jumble of English¬ 
men and Germans, French and Americans, Arabs, Copts, Armenians, 
camels, asses, dogs, funeral and marriage processions, bazaars, veiled 
women, Turks, caravans and noise is the result. Opposite to Cairo, and 
extending along a slope to the river, are the sixty pyramids; the ravages 
of time, and the depredations of Arab builders for ages, having given 
some of them a somewhat Irregular outline as they stand up against the 
clear sky In their gloomy grandeur. 

The mountains now approach nearer to the river than they did In 
Lower Egypt, and over the desert a picturesque group of Bedouins are 
wandering. They have been brought Into subjection by rigorous 
governmental treatment, but still proudly cling to their nomadic ways 
notwithstanding their race has been abandoned by so many tribes who 
have settled down Into the drudgery of partial civilization. They are 
therefore harmless to travelers. They are dressed in clothes of camel’s 
hair, with girdles of leather, and their wives wear the dark cotton robe of 
the fellaha, with an additional veil of crimson or white crape. Entering 
the river’s fertile strip the Arab band is seen to approach a cluster of 
mud huts, under a grove of palms, and connected with a farm. 
They talk with the bailiff in charge of the land and the fellaheen, 
and quickly pitch their tents beside the hut. They have returned 
to watch his crops and cattle, for they have been found trust¬ 
worthy before, although it is impossible to foretell when their 
thieving propensities will seize upon them. Wandering, like the 
Arab, through the pyramid section, we find that an opportunity is 
given them to rob us in genteel civilized fashion. The sheik of a tribe 
has founded his village at the foot of one of the pyramids and compla¬ 
cently levies his tribute upon curiosity seekers, who, under the hallucina¬ 
tion that they will be '‘conducted” are rushed up Its sides at railroad 
speed, over steps of three or four feet in height, by his impetuous and 
“lungless” Arabs. Still skirting along the Nile, or through Egypt, 
with its mid-days of white heat. Its purple mountain shadows, its cold 



SCENE ON THE NILE. 














































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































GLIDING UP THE NILE. 


19 


twilights and mellow “ after-glows,” its deserts and gardens, its hills 
pierced with pictured tombs, its bee boats stopping wherever the flowers 
bloom, its boatmen’s chants heard with choruses and clappings of hands, 
its boats built as they were in the days of the Pharaohs with their trian¬ 
gular sails, its limestone pyramids and sandstone temples — while 
wonderful nature and human life cast themselves and their moods over 
this country of Egyptian, Grecian and Roman ruins—“our special artist” 
finds—what ? Another specimen village, and the Bedouins have actually 
so far ventured into the confines of civilization as to settle in it. The 
village, which is a short distance from the beach, is thickly sprinkled 
with palms. A plot near by is also covered with gum trees. The 
houses are of the vulgar mud, but the large herd of cattle in the vicinity 
and the rich ornaments worn by the women, who are grouped near the 
river bank, are sufficient evidences that the Bedouins have gained by 
changing their ways of living. If you had been inclined to visit the 
sheik of the village he would, perhaps, have spread a Persian carpet for 
you under the shade of one of these gum trees, and, in the presence 
of his chief men, would politely have inquired as to your goings and 
comings. His house is also open to you. But, it may be, you had 
better rest content with seeing the outside of the village, especially it 
you have any valuables which you wish to retain. 

Let us now pass Siout, from which the Nubian caravans are departing, 
and to which some of our fellah acquaintances have journeyed to lay mat¬ 
ters before the governor of Central Egypt which are too momentous to 
be settled by any village authority. Let us pass the Christian town of 
Ekhmin, with its Coptic convent and its great ruins, and even the broad 
plain covered with the remains of fallen Thebes, her dark mountain 
tombs in the back-ground. All these wonders, of which you may read 
in hundreds of books and see them stand forth from thousands of bold 
engravings, are lightly skimmed over, only to enter a modest village 
beyond and see what is going on there. In Siout the governoi may 
dispense justice as he pleases for all the interest we take in his grand 
ways — but here is a village court-house ! It would correspond to our 
county court, several villages and towns bringing their legal affairs to it, 
and is crowded with handsome, sturdy peasants. At the door stand the 
keepers—two half-naked lads with long sticks. The room is small and 
approached by a narrow, dirty staircase. Many of the windows are 
broken, the panes being stuffed with rags or a ragged curtain to keep 
out the sun. At a number of inky, crazy-looking wooden desks in front, 
sit several scribes writing ; while on a ragged divan, with soiled cushions, 
sit a dozen more, each with paper or inkhorn of brass in his girdle or his 






20 


GLIDING UP THE NILE. 


hand. Each head scribe chants out the contents of his paper, in a 
sonorous, but not very loud tone ot voice, to his assistant, who copies it 
The dinner hour having arrived, does the court adjourn? That would 
hardly accord with the dignity of the Turkish judge. A lad brings into 
the court-room a tray, upon which are vegetaoles, bread, cheese and a 
watermelon; whereupon the Court, with two of his assistants, calmly 
proceed to dip their bits of bread in the vegetable dishes and go through 
the whole course. Then, leisurely wiping their hands, they resume 
work. 

In the village, outside of the sleepy court room, a lively scene is 
found in the shape of the weekly market. We see no booths, but each 
seller spreads his wares before him on little mats, cloth, wool, tobacco, 
butter, salt, curds, handkerchiefs, sugar, coffee, thread, etc., are displayed 
for sale. Veiled women, decorated according to their condition with 
colored glass or white shells, silver bracelets, golden coins or antique 
jewels, chat, examine and sometimes buy. Gentle Egyptian cattle wander 
about unmolested. The fellaha even appears as a “sales-lady” beside 
her pile of egg-plants or gourds, and shrilly proclaims their virtues. A 
Bedouin chief even appears upon his strong horse, his saddle furnished 
with cases of pistols. Elderly peasants, in turbans of white or crimson 
sit in sunny spots, smoking and chatting over their bargains. All this 
animation and enjoyment and indolence are fondled by a bright Egyp¬ 
tian sun. These fairs are certainly a great institution of Egyptian 
peasant and village life. 

But adieu to the fair and to the village with its mud huts, some 
standing alone and some clustering around a common court-yard, some 
filled with vermin and others with chickens in all stages of artificial 
development; to clerical, priestly Copt, to brawny, mercurial fellah, and 
to picturesque, thievish Bedouin. We are traveling into Upper Egypt, 
where the valley of the Nile so contracts that the sandstone rocks over¬ 
hang the water. Erom these rugged cliffs were quarried the huge stones 
which went into the building of the ruined monuments and temples of 
Upper Egypt and Nubia. Here is the home of the Copt and his viLages 
are scattered all along the rocky banks, his convents often crowning a 
precipitous height or the ruins of some imposing structure. He and his 
priest chose these dreary dwelling places when their ways of living were 
more ascetic than they now are; when the early Christians hid themselves 
in caves both from choice and from necessity; but having once planted 
their feet in this rocky gorge the ties of kindred and the bonds of poverty 
have kept them there. With the roar of the cataracts in our ears we 
say good»bye to Egypt, but not to the Nile, 


ETHIOPIA ALONG THE NILE. 


2 I 


ETHIOPIA ALONG THE NILE. 

The name Ethiopia” calls up all the savage tribes, the mystery and 
darkness of Central Africa. To our childhood mind an Ethiopian could 
be nothing but the blackest of the black; a great, uncouth, thick-lipped 
beast, roaming over a vast territory which stared at us with fearful 
blankness from the center of Africa. Ethiopia included all the unknown, 
and the Ethiopian everything in man which was calculated to produce a 
nightmare. But the truth of the matter is that ancient Ethiopia was 
renowned even in Greece and Rome as a land of high civilization ; the 
Ethiopians were called “ the blameless race ” and the favored friends of the 
gods. In her mightiest days, Ethiopia was the rival of Egypt in all that 
was grand and glorious, as is attested by the ruins of her vast temples 
in Nubia, some of which were hewn from mountains of solid rock. Her 
tribes are now scattered from the northern confines of the Sahara desert, 
through • Nubia, Abyssinia, along the banks of the Upper Nile and 
around the shores of its lakes, and into the most hidden recesses of the 
continent, where they merge with the true negroes of Soudan and Cen¬ 
tral Africa. They have scattered, and been driven, and settled in a ter¬ 
ritory stretching from Northern to Southern Africa, and from the Red 
Sea to the Atlantic, the best physical specimens of the ancient Ethio¬ 
pians being found in the Tuaricks of the central Sahara desert. Nubia 
was evidently the center of Ethiopian civilization, her present popular 
tion consisting of the descendants of her ancient people, and of various 
tribes of Arabs, most of whom invaded the country in Mohammed’s 
time. 

The first ray of intelligence which pierces the darkness enshrouding 
Ethiopian history and which bears upon the origin of the Nubians, as 
we find them to-day, is that in the early part of the Christian era a pow¬ 
erful tribe of Lybians appeared south of Egypt who were called Nobatae, 
or Nuba. The Nuba now occupy a small tract of country below the ter¬ 
ritory of the Dongolese in Southern Nubia. They are supposed to be 
Berbers. 


THE DONGOLESE. 

The two most distinct tribes of Nubians, however, who have least 
of the Arab blood, and are the truest types of natives in the country, are 
the Dongolese and the Shangallas. The Dongolese are also supposed 
to be the remains of the Lybian tribe of Nuba to whom the Romans 
granted land south of the first cataract in return for which they protected 


22 


THE DONGOLESE. 


Egypt’s frontier from the fierce attacks of Southern Ethiopian tribes. 
At first they were a Christian people and formed quite a powerful nation, 
whose capital was at Dongola and whose territory covered most of Lower 
Nubia, now inhabited by their Moslem conquerors, the Arabs. The 
vicinity of old Dongola, in the center of Nubia, seems to have been the 
nucleus of the ancient as well as the more modern Christian civilization. 
Here a Christian queen reigned over the Dongolese, and at the foot of 
a cliff which rises four hundred feet and formed the site of her capital 
are found five or six rock-hewn temples of vast magnitude. Their walls 
are covered with hieroglyphics, in high relief, representing figures and 
deeds of kings and gods. The houses of old Dongola are now mostly 
in ruins, but on the highest part of the rocky cliff a simple Coptic church 
rises into view. The walls are ornamented with crude paintings, and 
the attendant priest in his black robes, with his long and ragged hair, is 
wiping their unsightly and cracked surfaces with an old rag. Services 
have not been held in the church for many years, but the priest keeps 
guard within it and reads his Amharic bible all day long, and far into the 
night, by the light of the stars. So he does not mind the fact that nearly 
all its people have crossed the river and built themselves houses, and 
have gone to raising grain and fruits and cotton. This latter product 
requiring an abundant supply of water, a rude canal has been constructed 
communicating with the Nile. When the canal is dry water is conveyed 
across country in numerous small aqueducts, built on upright tim¬ 
bers, to the cotton fields beyond. None of this cotton finds its way to 
Lower Egypt; but the people along the river for many miles and thous¬ 
ands of wandering Arabs wear clothes made in Old Dongola, or opposite 
its former site. There are many primitive looms in the vicinity, the 
light-colored Dongolese women working at them and turning out strips 
of cloth about ten feet in length and fifteen inches wide. A strip of this 
cloth, simply rolled around the loins and shoulders of the Arab, with a 
pair of drawers, completes the dress of our nomadic customer. It is said 
to last him five or six years. Many of the children are sent out to mind 
the oxen which propel the “sakieh” wheels. You have seen them in the 
land of Egypt but did not know that under a palm, or rock near by, a 
half-naked girl or boy was lying apparently asleep. But let the monot¬ 
onous creaking stop for a moment and a shrill cry would start the patient 
beasts on their everlasting rounds, and the water would continue to flow 
over the fields. If not thus employed they are seen along the river 
banks fishing with hook or trap for the muddy-tasting shall, bultee or 
kharmoot; they are waging an exciting warfare with the white ants which 
sometimes threaten the scant household furnishings of their homes; or 


THE SHANGALLAS. 



they are out picking cotton or sewing seed. We find the Dongolese 
living in the same wretched huts as the Egyptians, consisting often of 
one room, with a court-yard for the goats and fowl. Though the fertile 
strip of the Nile averages ten or twelve miles through the one hundred 
miles covered by the territory of the Dongolese, and bears two annual 
crops of corn and dates, cotton, tobacco, coffee, opium, indigo, sugar¬ 
cane, beans and saffron, they are indolent by nature and prefer to collect 
slaves in the further regions of the Nile and sell them in Egypt. They 
raise fine cattle, also, which require less attention than the crops, and 
pride themselves on the superior breed of their horses, which are, indeed, 
larger than the Arabian. As has been intimated, the Dongolese are 
whiter than the Nubians in general. They seem originally to have been 
a tribe living north of the Ethiopians, and have had a slight mixture of 
Arabian and Mameluke, or Circassian blood. Driven from Egypt, 
where they were once the ruling power, the Mamelukes founded New 
Dongola, but finally, as a people, became extinct. The Mamelukes were 
driven out by the Turks who still garrison the town with negroes from 
the White Nile. 


THE SHANGALLAS. 

A relic of the most degraded of the Ethiopian tribes are the Shan- 
gallas found in the country to the west of Abyssinia and in Southeastern 
Nubia, although the boundary line between the two countries is very 
indefinite. Though savage and bloodthirsty in an extreme degree in 
their attacks upon rival tribes and travelers entering Abyssinia, some 
rays of humanity still gleam from their natures; for they always spare 
women and children. They are powerfully built, from the waist upward, 
and so swift of foot that they scarcely ever employ beasts for riding. 
They use the spear and the two-edged sword common in all this por¬ 
tion of Africa, and though they are at constant war with the partially 
Europeanized people of Abyssinia who are armed with comparatively 
modern weapons, they are so fearless and hardy that their numbers do 
not seem to diminish. In their mode of warfare, they also evince a 
singular love of ‘‘fairness.” They never mutilate the persons of the 
fallen and, except in a regular attack, two will never attack one. Let 
twenty Shangallas meet an enemy, and instead of a cowardly and over¬ 
powering onslaught, lots would be cast, and he upon whom the choice 
fell, would go forth fiercely to meet his adversary, the others looking on 
at the combat, with perfect indifference, even if it should end in their 
comrade’s death. Their chief food is meat and wild honey, with which 


24 


THE SHANGALLAS. 


their country abounds, and in the rainy season they live often in caves, 
where large fires are kept lighted night and day. Many of these caves 
are capable of containing a whole village, and in them they often take 
refuge from the attacks of the Abyssinians who seldom venture into 
their country except in large force. The Shangallas live to a great 
extent on roots, and on the carcasses of elephants, slain by Abys¬ 
sinian hunters who have ventured over the border. These they frequently 
dispute with the lions. They eat also snakes of all kinds. When alone 
in the jungle the Shangalla fills his large gourd with water and wild 
honey, catches his snake and cuts off its head with his sword, lights two 
immense fires, roasts his snake on the embers, then he gorges himself, 
and stretches out his naked body between the fires. If he is not seized 
by a man-eating lion, or trampled upon by an elephant, he awakes, 
drains the contents of the gourd well fermented by the heat, and starts 
off in search of man or beast. His courage is fortified by the same 
liquor (“pale mead”) which the ancient Britons drank. 

Strange to say, the Shangallas have a deep-rooted prejudice against 
making any attacks at night and they never start on an expedition with¬ 
out consulting the birds, whose chirpings they say they understand. If 
a bad omen encounters them on the road, they quit the prey even if in 
sight of it and return for the day. The hunters from Abyssinia who 
come into the Shangalla’s country for elephants have many like notions ; 
they, for instance, will only descend from the hills into the jungle below 
for seven days at a time. Although the border people of the Shangallas 
have an exciting time of it with Abyssinian hunters and soldiers, ele¬ 
phants, rhinoceros, buffaloes and lions, and live as they can, those in the 
interior have fat flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. From these few 
particulars it will be seen how widely separated they are from the indo¬ 
lent and fair-skinned Dongolese with their crude cotton looms, their 
cultivated lands, their boats coming from the Blue and the White Nile 
laden with gum, senna, ivory and slaves, their bazaars and dancing girls, 
their negro soldiers and their Turkish officials. Here are the two 
extremes. 

Remnants also of the northern race or tribes who assisted Egypt in 
her continual war with Ethiopia are supposed to exist in the Bisharien, 
who inhabit the desert east of the river and live entirely upon flesh and 
milk, and the Takas who live in the mountains. A number of negro or 
Ethiopian tribes are scattered along the Blue and White Nile, some of 
them being the remnants of a crude state called the Kingdom of Sennar 
which gave the Egyptians an immense amount of trouble before they were 
brought into any kind of subjection. There are also several collections 


THE SIIANGALLAS. 


25 


of oases In South Nubia inhabited by black warlike tribes, some of whom 
are clad in iron armor and are fine horsemen. 

Generally speaking, the Arabs proper occupy the northern third of 
Nubia, the majority of those who make even a pretense of having an 
occupation acting as guides to caravans and as camel drivers, and letting 
out camels for hire. The only tax which the government imposes on the 
Arabian population is to fix a price at which their camels must be sup¬ 
plied. This is somewhat less than they can obtain from traveling 
merchants, and although they are allowed to roam the country at their 
own “ sweet will ” they are great grumblers when called upon by the 
government to fulfill their part of the agreement. The Wady-el-Kab is 
a large oasis with many wells, 
extending more than a hun¬ 
dred miles, parallel to the Nile 
and about fifty miles to the 
west of it. Here, in the dry 
season, many thousands of 
camels are gathered. It is 
therefore the ofeneral meeting 
place of government officials 
and travelers who wish to hire 
camels. Another class of 
Arabs have partially settled 
down on the banks of the 
river, intermarried with the 
fixed population and devoted 
themselves the greater part of 
the year to agriculture. They 
are also liable to this species 
of mild demand on the part of 
the pfovernment and bear a 
tax in proportion to the num¬ 
ber of water wheels they run, 
in common with the rest of 
the agricultural population. 

The typical Nubian, as he has been formed by a blending of Arab¬ 
ian, Berber, Circassian, Ethiopian and negro tribes, is a handsome, dark- 
brown mulatto — bold, frank, cheerful and lazy. In Upper Nubia his 
villages show some evidences of enterprise, some of the houses being two 
stories high, and built in quite a pleasing fashion of a kind of concrete. 
Others are constructed in the following manner, and in Egypt the fellah 



A NUBIAN. 


















26 


NUBIAN CHARACTERISTICS. 


or poor Copt, would consider them quite in the nature of palaces : A 
circle of strong posts, each a yard apart and about twenty feet in 
diameter, are interlaced with pliable branches of trees which are covered 
with stalks tied together with long river grass. The skeleton of the roof, 
which is formed on the ground, is made of beams corresponding to the 
posts of the wall, and when raised in position is covered with a thatch of 
straw and grass upon a bed of plaited twigs. The roofs of these houses 
are in many instances occupied by storks who form their nests around 
the apex. 

NUBIAN CHARACTERISTICS. 

The last heard of Egypt, was the roaring of the Nile’s Eirst Cataract 
which ushers us into Nubia—the land of granite and sandstone ; of flowery 
islands and grim Ethiopian temples; of myth and music; of desert waste 
and wandering tribes ; of gold and slaves and the conglomeration of many 
families of men. Assouan, the frontier town, is the gate to Ethiopia 
Here the Nile encounters rocky islands and unyielding cliffs and protests 
at the change in much foaming and rushing of waters. It has been so 
peaceable heretofore, that we must call this pouring of its floods through 
this narrow channel, over rocks and islets, a “cataract.” Erom Assouan 

we had best ascend the rapids in our “dahabieh,” or native boat. We 

• 

are dashed hither and thither as if our destination were nowhere and 
seem to be having a much more exciting time than the little brown Nubians 
who are coolly launching themselves into the boiling stream on logs 
of wood, their clothing, if they have any, being carried in a bundle over 
their heads. They are simply descending the cataract in their passage 
across the river, while we are ascending it. Having been rowed into 
still water one may soon reach the island of Philae, which is implicitly 
believed by many of the natives to be the dwelling place of the god who 
blesses the Nile and causes it to rise and bless the soil. As proof you 
may see his very temple there. The fertile strip is, as a rule, more nar¬ 
row in Nubia than in Egypt, three-fourths of the country being waste; so 
that were it not for the fact that water wheels are as plentiful as 
Ethiopian ruins we should be tempted to be skeptical on the score of the 
power of Isis, this god of the Nile. But Isis, with the help of the water¬ 
wheels, does very well, considering the material he has to work with. 
The soil, however, can support but a scanty population and many of its 
inhabitants emigrate to the large cities of Lower Egypt to find employ¬ 
ment. Much of the work in the fields is therefore done by women and 
children, and it is possible that this is one explanation of the general 
prevalence of polygamy. In many parts of Nubia the wife is purchased 




DINK A HUTS. 





















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































28 


UNORGANIZED ETHIOPIA. 


of the parents with money. The standard price of a wife among the 
Arabs is six camels, three going to the bridegroom. 

As you pass along the river or the roadside near it, you have ample 
time to observe many clear-cut faces, especially among the girls who are 
in the fields or gathered about a well to draw water. The one disagree¬ 
able thing about them all is the castor oil which not only exudes from 
the bare skin of their body but seems about to drip from their cork-screw 
curls. The costume of the young Nubian girl, aside from a light veil 
thrown over her head, is a short petticoat of tiny strips of leather, orna¬ 
mented with shells and beads. The women wear a tunic of camel-hair, 
looped upon each shoulder and leaving the arms bare. The men wear 
turbans usually, and linen, cotton and woolen garments, their weapons a 
lance and a shield, the latter being made of the hide of a hippopotamus. 
The Nubians and many of the tribes further south, along the Upper Nile, 
are much given to dancing and music, their chief instrument being a guitar 
of five strings with a sounding board of gazelle hide. In common with 
all semi-civilized nations, their commercial facilities are of the crudest 
kind. They have no national currency but receive the coins of Egypt 
and Europe, also measuring the value of their exchanges with glass beads, 
coral, cloth, skirts and cows. Maize is measured by the handful ; cloth 
from the elbow,to the fingers. All these things you learn by gliding up 
the Nile and keeping your ears and eyes open. Ascending the White 
river higher and higher, the iron-clad tribes and the warlike horsemen of 
Southern Nubia are left behind. The banks of the river and the shores 
of the lakes which lead up to its source are swarming with savage life and 
peculiarities. Our next excursion will be into that very country which 
was the nightmare of our youthful days, although even there we may 
find traits which might cause civilization itself a momentary confusion, as 
we did among the savage, but fair-minded warriors of the Shangallas. 

UNORGANIZED ETHIOPIA. 

Various tribes of Arabs of pastoral-nomadic habits live along both 
sides of the river until the outposts of Nubia are reached. Afterwards 
Ethiopia comes more prominently into view in the persons of the Chilluks 
and the Dinkas, tribes whose worship is almost confined to the cow. 
The specimens which they present of their divinity are poor and 
forlorn and give but little milk. But they never kill them for food: 
firstly, because of their superstition and secondly, because the sheik of 
every tribe detains as slaves those who do not possess at least one cow. 
Whatever their condition might have been at one time, and the Chilluks 



CENTRAL AFRICA W>R WEAPONS, 










































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































UNORGANIZED ETHIOPIA 


are said to have formerly been the founders of a kingdom in Sennar, 
they are now a miserable people. They inhabit a country of jungles and 
bogs, the haunts of swarms of huge mosquitoes, of lions, leopards, hippo¬ 
potami, buffaloes and crocodiles. They seem not to have the ambition or 
courage to emigrate to a more favored district and rest satisfied with keep- 



A TATTt^OED WARRIOR. 

ing their enemies at a distance by setting fire to the heaps of refuse which 
surround their villages. Almost too timid to hunt, they live upon the 
detestable fish which the Nile sffords, and under the curtain of the 
dense clouds of smoke which hang over their huts, they wander round 
in idleness. The only industry which they really engage in is that of 



















































































































































UNORGANIZED ETHIOPIA. 


31 


faithfully smearing their bodies with muck and ashes. Their jaws are 
usually very protuberant and they think to add to the ^‘beauty” of their 
appearance by knocking out some of their front teeth, usually two above 
and two below. Also by thrusting pieces of wood through their lips, 
which remain there as permanent ornaments, their conversation is 
accompanied by a lively clatter as if upon the castanets. About the 
only thing in the way of an accomplishment which these tribes show is 
monopolized by the women or the girls, who make some pretensions in 
the terpsichorean art; but even their proficiency is left far behind by the 
girl of the Njam-Njam nation whose country is several hundred miles 
to the south. 

The Njam-Njams seem to be a tribe of rovers. Their women are 
noted for their grace and beauty and are taken as slaves by the chiefs 
of all the tribes who so desire. It is said that their own people sell 
them and that the women themselves do not consider their condition 
slavery. They are copper colored, short in stature, with small 
hands and feet. Like the men, their ankles, arms and necks are 
encased in a perfect coat of mail, either of steel or copper rings. The 
head is kept painfully elevated by the choking necklace, while the ears, 
nose and mouth are either brass or iron-clad. Naturally, when any of 
the great sheiks hold a congo, or dance, they are in great’ demand and 
come, voluntarily, from many miles distant. The leading musical instru¬ 
ment upon such occasions is a wooden horse beaten on its sides 
with drumsticks, or a sort of a frame-work made of banana trees. They 
also have horns made of elephant tusks. 

Beyond a vast stretch of dreary country are found the Baris, a tall 
tribe of warriors and agriculturists. They have numerous villages and 
great herds of cattle, but are treacherous and cowardly. This tribe go 
naked, and shave the head and face, smearing the skin with an oxide of 
iron mixed with grease, or a powder which they obtain from a certain 
tree. Every chief has for the sole use of his people one or more of 
these trees which he jealously guards. They are armed with bow and 
arrow and lance, speak a not unmusical language and always call each 
other “giglie,” or friend. Their camps or villages are encircled with 
straw palisades to keep off lions, leopards and wild cats. The Baris are 
the last of the native tribes, along the Nile, who are under the jurisdic¬ 
tion of Egypt. 

The Njam-Njams live to the west of the Baris. The women are 
pleasing and the men are warlike. The tribe seems to be allied to the 
Caffres both in its mode of warfare and physical characteristics. In fact 
traces of this people are found in tribes which inhabit the lake regions 


J 


32 UNORGANIZED ETHIOPIA. 

of Central Africa, the coasts of Zanzibar and Mozambique, and along 
the banks of the Zambesi river. The Njam-Njams, in common with 
their neighbors, manufacture a kind of cloth from the bark of the wild 
fig tree, which they make into waist clothes, but they are very fond of 
the European fabric, and are frequently hired to make war against less 
skillful tribes by presents of cotton cloth. They are remarkably mus¬ 
cular and agile, and engage the enemy hand-to-hand, slashing and stab¬ 
bing with a huge knife. Their assailants may be the Baris, who use 
poisoned arrows, but the Njam-Njams, protecting their bodies with won¬ 
derful quickness from the shower of deadly missiles, bound into their 
ranks and cut or stab many to death. Not content with this they pur¬ 
sue survivors into the villages, which they raze to the ground, taking cat¬ 
tle, provisions, women and everything which they consider of value. 
With all their bravery in the fight, they are undoubtedly cannibals and 
often feast, after their battles, upon the flesh of their enemies. To the 
inquiries of the curious who have ventured among them they usually 
give the outside world to understand that they eat human flesh only 
when other meat is scarce, and when nature craves a stronger diet than 
their usual one of bananas. 

Contrary to the general supposition, the boldest native seldom 
attacks the elephant with his lance. The country of the Baris and the 
Njam-Njams is a great “stamping-ground” for the mastodon. Con¬ 
cealed in the branches of some huge tree sits the hunter, having in his 
hand a huge loaded spear which he lets drop upon the back of the great 
beast as he passes underneath. The wound may not be at once fatal, 
but if the hunter is at all skillful it usually proves so, eventually. 
Another plan is to dig deep trenches that are covered with leaves and 
sticks, though this mode of capture has become so “ old a story ” that 
the wary elephant seldom falls into the trap. A large area of the tall 
jungle grass is selected by the sheik of the village and a wide space 
cleaned completely around it. When a large herd of elephants enter 
the jungle to feed, the grass is fired, The beasts rush in all directions, 
and those which are not trampled to death or suffocated, meet their fate 
at the hands of the natives, who form a living wall beyond the fire. The 
blackened, though uninjured, tusks go to the chiefs ; the people have 
the flesh. 

The marriage custom of these people consists in the suitor present¬ 
ing the father of his intended with as many huge knives as his generos¬ 
ity, or anxiety, or affection, may prompt. The handle is curiously 
wrought, and wound with copper wire. When the warrior receives his 



3 


OM THE SHORES OF LAKE VICTORIA NYANZA, 












































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































34 


ON THE SHORES OF LAKE VICTORIA NYANZA. 


bride, she comes to him quite unornamented, and he must go to work 
and make the countless rings which embellish her. 

ON THE SHORES OF LAKE VICTORIA NYANZA. 

The shores of Lake Victoria Nyanza and the regions roundabout 
simply swarm with strange savage life. One tribe who are said to be mor- 



PRINCESS AND WARRIOR OF UGUNDA. 

ally far superior to most of the natives of Africa pronounce their words 
like yelping dogs, which may be partially accounted for by the fact 
that they perforate the lip and introduce therein either a piece of copper, 
or a well shaped bead held in its place by a head like a nail. These peo¬ 
ple bring to bear all the powers of their mind, so far as dress goes, upon 
the construction of fantastic and wonderful head-dresses. The natives 


























ON THE SHORES OF AKE VICTORIA NYANZA. 


35 


in this region who make a specialty of clothes, manufacture them from 
the bark of a wild fig tree. This they cut into strips, beat with a 
peculiar wooden instrument and sew together in large sheets. The 
“togas” thus formed are tied over the left shoulder. Their milk jars 
and pots are fashioned into many curious devices and are a fine kind of 
ware. They arm themselves with the spear or lance and when they 
sally forth upon a campaign, their wives accompany them. This arrange¬ 
ment does not seem either to be entirely for “company’s sake.” The 
women form the commissary department of.the army. They carry the 
provisions and grind the grain between two stones to sustain the soldiers 
on the march. Upon being attacked, or charging the enemy, the women 
are usually sent to the rear with the baggage. The chief is arrayed in 



AUDIENCE HALL OF THE KING. 


a dark robe, ornamented with graceful lines and rows of black dots, and 
wears sandals upon his feet. 

At length on the shores of Lake Victoria Nyanza we come upon a 
nation which has made the wearing of clothing obligatory. The land of 
the Ugundi, with its “ M’Tse,” has become celebrated as the scene of 
the most astounding contradictions in savage life. The roads approach¬ 
ing his dominions are broad and kept in good order. The country has 
a national standard, consisting of a red and white flag, from which hang 
three strips of long-haired monkey skin. When the column is upon the 
march, horns and drums keep up a deafening din ; its volume is swelled, 
if possible, by a vocal imitation of the crow, given by the whole army^ 
the whole performance forcibly reminding one of a political procession 
in our own country. A solid body of lancers forty or fifty front, and a 















36 ON THE SHORES OF LAKE VICTORIA NYANZA. 

collection of skirmishers on each side of them armed with firelocks and 
decked with fez of flannel and black feathers, march along the broad 
road toward the palace of the king. A succession of hills covered with 
banana groves roll away toward the lake and every point of elevation 
is covered with a clothed native, as the king’s body-guard, escorting 
some honored guest, go marching on to meet the king himself who 
stands at the outer gate of the palace. This is situated on a hill and in 
the center of an amphitheater formed by seven high palisades. The 
palace is ‘a large pyramidal hut, supported by interior columns. It is 
approached by seven gates, the intervals between the palisade walls 
being occupied by the houses of the king’s ministers. The king 
welcomes his guest and is followed by his commander-in-chief, body- 



UGUNDA HUTS. 


guard and procession. As they pass through each gate a huge cow-bell 
wildly proclaims the progress of the royal march. The king is of a 
light copper tint, dressed in a long cloak of blue cloth, trimmed with 
gold. Around his head is wound a white turban. His waist is 
encircled by a golden belt, from which is suspended a scimetar, and his 
feet are encased in sandals. Seated upon a chair over which is thrown a 
cloth of gold, the king receives the reports of his various ministers who 
throw themselves upon their faces before him. Afterwards the distin¬ 
guished guest is entertained by witnessing the most horrible scenes of 
decapitation, practiced by his official headsmen upon those who have 
come under the royal displeasure. The beating of drums and the toot¬ 
ing of horns accompany these bloody deeds. And this in a country 
where clothes are required to be worn by legislative enactment ; in 
which a regular currency is in circulation consisting of European goods, 
copper and shells ; where there are tanners and iron makers of modern 





















ON THE SHORES OF VICTORIA NVANZA. 37 

proficiency ; in which the territory is not only divided into districts but 
the government has regular departments of state. 

Ugunda is the land of bananas. From the fruit is extracted an 
unfermented and delicious liquor of which the females are extrava¬ 
gantly fond, most of them carrying gourds around their necks filled with 
it and from which they drink from time to time. The water in the 
stock of the tree is drunk when the pure article is not easily obtained. 
The men extract the banana liquor and ferment it. The cattle raised 
in this country are of the choicest breeds. The soil is cultivated by the 
women, the sterner sex giving their time to war or elephant hunting. 
Sugar-cane is considered a great luxury, and very often one sees the 
Ugunda passing by, chewing the end of a long stalk that trails behind 
him. The walls of the huts are also made of sugar-cane, roofed with 
jungle grass, the interior being divided into compartments and kept very 
clean. Whatever may be said of the abominable practices of many of 
these tribes, as we approach the Equator (where the Ugunda nation is) 
it is remarkable how much neater their habitations are as a rule, than 
those of nations farther north. Even the poorer classes of Egyptians 
and Nubians suffer in comparison. The regulation which has been no¬ 
ticed in regard to clothing may also have a sanitary bearing, the nature 
of which would not be suspected by those who have not experienced an 
equatorial climate. Except during April the atmosphere is “ chronic¬ 
ally” damp and the nights are invariably cold. In the daytime when 
the sun breaks through the clouds the heat is such as has made Central 
Africa a fearful charnel house for the average European. 

On the contrary, the lower grades of animal and all vegetable life 
appear at their best. The lion and elephant, the hippopotamus, the 
rhinoceros, the crocodile and the ourang-outang are as much products of 
the tropics as the gigantic baobab, or cotton tree. The ostrich, the 
laro-est of birds, orrows under the encouragement of African climate as do 
the giant quadrupeds. The python and the asp glide among towering 
trees and flaming flowers, while the giraffe reaches a height which 
almost makes one suspect that he should after all be classed as a vegetable. 

Near the sources of the Nile, around the shores of Victoria 
Nyanza and Albert Nyanza—which both lie under the equator—there are 
not only several kingdoms of natives, but animal life reaches the height 
of its development. Hippopotami and crocodiles frequent their banks 
and large herds of elephants come down to their shores to drink. 

The Ugunda country lies on the northern and northwestern borders 
of Victoria Nyanza being wooded and gently sloping toward the shores, 
or low, grassy and fertile, and drained by channels lined with rushes. 




38 


ON tHe shores of LAKR ViCtORlA NVANZA. 


From this region the Victoria Nile flows in a northwesterly direction 
toward Albert Nyanza, the country being quite hilly and rough in char* 
acter. About twenty miles from the second lake, the river suddenly 
contracts to about one-fourth its former size and shoots through a gorge 
and over a precipice, breaking into a torrent of foam and presenting a 
picture of great beauty and majesty. Having spent its force in this 
grand outburst of enthusiasm the Nile continues the balance of its jour¬ 
ney mildly and even sluggishly. 

Albert Nyanza, named in honor of Prince Albert, as the other body 
of water honors the Queen, abounds in mammoth fish and animals, and 
and the contrast between its white waters and the lofty, blue mountains 
which rise from its western shores is most delicate and picturesque. 
Much of the eastern shore is fringed with steep cliffs, but toward the 
north where the white Nile makes its exit it becomes level and marshy. 
The Albert Nyanza is also surround by negro states, but none of them 
have become as civilized as the Ugundi. The kingdom of Malagga is 
found established among the western mountains. 

The Nyanzas were discovered by the African travelers, Speke, 
Grant and Baker. With the natives Nyanza means a large body of 
water, but it is generally considered as a proper name applied to the 
equatorial lakes. 





ABYSSINIA. 


BYSSINIA is an immense table-land, broken up into plat¬ 
eaux, and formincY a water-shed for the waters of its rivers 

o 

and lakes which flow toward the Red Sea and the Nile. 
Toward the Red Sea the descent from the highlands is very 
abrupt; toward the Nile it is very gradual. From the rich 
agricultural plains of Abyssinia, lying a mile or two above 
the level of the sea, the tributaries of the Nile receive the 
waters of a vast region, which, during the rainy season, 
wash into their channels from thousands of valleys and 
gorges. From one series of plateaux to another they pour, 
the Atbara River especially (“The Terrible,” its name implies) 
dashing tumultuously down rocky precipices toward the sands of Nubia. 
From a country of beautiful lakes and springs, and flowing through 
a fertile grain region, comes the Blue Nile itself, carrying in its 
depths the precious freight for deposit in Nubia and Egypt. The 
climate of such a grand region of rich plateaux and valleys, pure 
lakes and springs, is naturally temperate and healthful. Only on the 
eastern coast and in the sandy regions bordering on Nubia could any 
excuse be offered for describing the Abyssinian country as “a seething 
caldron.” Its purifying thunder-storms pass over waving fields of 
barley and oats, on the heights, and, on the lower plateaux, its 
lightnings reveal the plantations of wheat, rice, cotton and coffee. 
From its dark mountains, covered with gloomy forests of pine, deep 
ravines which are carpeted with long grass and moss, lead down to 
undulating plains on which are tethered noble horses, with here and 
there cottages peeping from groups of trees, fields of grain or a wild 
tangle of grape vine. The golden-crested crane, the scarlet-beaked 
heron or the lordly eagle deck out the natural features of a noble 
country. In the midst of this charming variety — Switzerland, Italy and 
Eno-land, all concentrated here — one discordant element makes of 
Abyssinia “a seething caldron.” 

Abyssinia is a kingdom in name and boasts a royal line from the 

39 





























40 


ABYSSINIA. 



Queen of Sheba herself, who is said to have ruled over the northern part 
of the country when she visited King Solomon. Its history, however, 
both past and present, is little more than a succession of revolts of the 
independent tribes to the north, and the fierce southern people who are 
under the sway of the savage Gallas, the “ Tartars of Africa.” The ter¬ 
ritory of Abyssinia to the Galla country has seldom been under the con¬ 
trol of an acknowledged king or military governor. The tribes or the 
people of the tribes who have joined the Coptic Church and draw their 

religion and their superstitions 
from it, are called by the 
natives “ Abyssinias and all 
other Ethiopians. In other 
words, the country inhabited 
by those who have to some 
extent forgotten their tribal 
differences, is called Abyssinia. 
The people of Abyssinia have 
been divided into three distinct 
races. The aboriginal Abys- 
sinians inhabit most of the 
central portion of the country, 
called Amhara, and are also 
found in the northern sections. 
They are of middle size, with 
oval faces, lips not thicker than 
those of Europeans, pointed 
noses and straight or slightly 
curled hair. A second race, 
abounding most in Tigre, the 
northernmost district of Abys¬ 
sinia, have thick lips, noses 
blunt and somewhat curved, 
thick hair verging on woolliness, and their speech betrays many marks 
of the ancient Ethiopian tongue. The third are the Gallas, “The Tar¬ 
tars of Africa,” who have crowded into Abyssinia from the South and 
spread the terror of their might over the coast regions of the continent 
to a point beyond the equator. They are a large-bodied race, round- 
faced, short-nosed, with a depression between the nose and the brow, 
with deep-set lively eyes and thick lips. With this general introduction 
we must proceed to interview the tribes in the north and discuss some 
features of their restless life ; then come further south and learn of a 


AN ABYSSINIAN WARRIOR. 




















ABYSSINIA. 


4t 

crude and yet somewhat Europeanized power, and then pass to the South 
into the land of the Gallas, who, with many of the characteristics of the 
African still remind us of the savage warriors of Europe, upon whose 
ferocity the hardy virtues of civilization were built. 

hirst come the Bedouin tribes from near the Nubian plains, and 
the coast of the Red Sea. Their districts abound with orazelles and 

o 

ostriches, with lions, hyenas and jackals. They carry on a small trade 
in hides with Egypt, and also export quantities of gum-arabic. Their 
villages are sometimes stationary, but usually these restless ones may be 
seen moving about in search of the best pasturage, their camels loaded 
with all their house¬ 
hold goods, including 
their huts. These 
are made of Ions: 

o 

canes tied together 
at the top. When 
they encamp for the 
night they bend them 
in the shape of bee¬ 
hives and cover them 
with mats. Arrang¬ 
ing their huts in a 
circular form, they 
dispose their flocks 
and herds in the cen¬ 
ter and then proceed 
to their simple diet 
of milk and maize 
bread. This their wives have already prepared and they are soon 
grouped around in various lazy attitudes, their enormous frizzled heads 
of hair, stuck through with long pieces of wood, bobbing in a ridiculous 
fashion as they drink, eat and chatter. Their head-dress stamps them as 
quasi-Abyssinians. The neighbors of these Bedouins are tribes who 
live with their cattle among the hill ranges bordering the Red Sea, and 
are literally ground between two millstones. Mostly converts to Coptic 
Christianity the Moslem governor frequently requires some token of 
their submission to Turkey, and as they are often obliged to descend into 
the Abyssinian valleys with their herds and flocks they are forced to pay 
the chief of Tigre something for the accommodation. Many of the 
tribes in this country were formerly under the rule of Abyssinia and are 
the purest representatives of the Ethiopian race to be found for a long 



AN ABYSSINIAN KING. 


I 







4^ 


ABYSSINIA. 


distance. Covering the surface of one of their plains, for many square 
miles, is found one of the most curious evidences of primitive life in the 
world, in the form of a bewildering jumble of granite rocks. Some of 
them are fashioned into the shape of caves ; others are smooth and pol¬ 
ished on all sides, as if worked with a chisel, and make quite respectable 
houses. In some of the broad surfaces are niches large enough for seats; 
others are sufficiently capacious to lie in. Ancient inscriptions are 
found on these rocks which have not been deciphered, although the rocky 
huts are thought to indicate the existence of a village settled by some 
primitive people ; perhaps the Troglodytes, a rude shepherd tribe from 
Arabia and the supposed descendants of Cush, the son of Ham, the son 
of Noah. Here, it may be, lived a people who saw the advance guard 
of the great tide of emigration which passed from Asia into Africa and 
became the progenitors of the Ethiopian race and the Ethiopian civiliza¬ 
tion. At other localities there are the marks of an immense fixed popu¬ 
lation, such as no doubt existed even when the Oueen of Sheba ruled on 
both sides of the Straits of Babel-mandeb. 

Among other queer superstitions which have taken hold of these 
border tribes is that each small village or settlement must have its sacred 
cow, on which depends the life of the whole herd and therefore the very 
existence of the villagers. The cow must be of one breed and her milk 
drawn into vessels of earthenware, instead of into the wickerwork vases 
of the common cows. The milk must be drunk from these same vessels, 
as it would be sacrilege to pour it into any others. Should any of these 
regulations be omitted, the cows of the whole herd will becorn'e dry or 
die, and as the people really live on milk it will be seen how calamitous 
would be such a misfortune. Living as they do, these tribes who are 
called Hababs, are well formed and graceful, an unusual quality with the 
women of Abyssinia. Their mourners are always women, and when a 
person of prominence has died they gather daily in a circle out of doors, 
and from a low moan work themselves up into such a frantic exhibition 
of grief as to leap into the air and throw themselves into all sorts of con¬ 
tortions. These mourning bees ” they continue every morning for at 
least a year and a month. If war or famine or disease should carry off 
many people of prominence it will readily be seen how busy the women 
would be kept. 

Tribes further to the west of the Hababs are more bold and war¬ 
like, making excursions often into the country of the Shangallas and 
taking even those hardy savages for slaves. This custom explains, in 
part, the extreme ferocity which the Shangallas show toward anything 
which has the least odor of Abyssinia, and the persistency with which 


ABYSSINIA. 


43 


they haunt the roads leading into that country and keep tiavelers in a 
constant state of trepidation. 

The Shihos, unlike the Shangallas, seem to be robbers from cool 
choice, and no man would venture into their country, which commands 
the only good road into Abyssinia, were it not that much time is 
saved in taking that thoroughfare and that within their territory 
are immense plains of salt. Abyssinian workmen, protected by a large 
armed force, are constantly digging out salt, with stakes, in small 
oblong pieces. These are carried away by men, girls or donkeys and 
form the currency of the country, except in Tigre where it is too plen¬ 
tiful. By the time the piece of salt money, ’ which is in size about 
8x2X1 1-2 inches, has reached the Galla country its value has greatly 
enhanced from loss, breakage, abrasion and the tollage imposed. Each 
lump is there subdivided into sixteen layers, so that the owner may 
make small purchases. This article is there so highly prized that the 
children of the prosperous tie little lumps to their girdles which they suck 
from time to time as choice tid-bits. The last tribe deserving mention 
among those who now occupy territory which has been wrested from 
Abyssinia by the Turks, are the Dankalis. Their country is a level 
plain over which roam ostriches, wild asses, gazelles and their own fat 
cattle and sheep. They are favored with any number of fine wells, but 
sometimes are not able to approach them because of the herds of 
elephants which kneel around them to quench their thirst. A well will 
often be thus encompassed for two or three days. Such are the tribes 
inhabiting the border country of Abyssinia, who are in reality a portion 
of its inhabitants. 

Striking across a faintly-defined boundary line into the country 
which acknowledges no Turk as master, we enter the political and tribal 
district of Tigre. Within this district is the Mecca of Abyssinia, the 
royal city of the Queen of Sheba — Axum, by name. Hither come all 
the kings of the country, who have of late years been few indeed, to 
be crowned by the High Priest of the Abyssinian Church, as the suc¬ 
cessor of Menelek, the son of Solomon. The “Register of Kings” is 
also kept here by the priesthood and scribes. It records the expeditions 
against rival tribes, the uprisings of tribe against tribe and chief 
against king, and the extent and changes of empire, which once included 
the coast of Africa from Zanzibar to Nubia, and the country from the 
shores of the Red Sea to Kordofan. Axum also boasts of possessing 
the principal church of Abyssinia, built of stone and in the form of an 
oblong. This is said to conceal the true ark which was stolen from the 
Jews. The modern town is built about the church and a number of pon- 



44 


A NA'PTON OF WARRIORS. 


derous obelisks. The latter rest upon large square blocks of stone, 
having runnels cut into them, and some antiquarians maintain that they 
were originally used as altars on which the atoning victim was offered. 
The church enclosures are a safe refuge for all criminal and political 
offenders. A country permeated with such legends and associations 
would naturally become the dwelling place of many of the Hebrew race, 
aside from those who have been natives of Abyssinia since “ the memory 
of man runneth back.” The Jews have, in fact, been always classified as 
among the aborigines of the country. In modern times they have upheld 
the highest civilization of Abyssinia, which has centered around Gondar, 
its capital, being noted especially as skilled artisans and mechanics. All 
the manufacturers of cotton cloth are Moslems; all the builders and 
artisans are Jews. 

A NATION OF WARRIORS. 

But primarily the Abyssinians are a nation of warriors, or a collec¬ 
tion of fighters, overshadowed by priests and superstitions. Their kings 
must show a descent from Solomon, but the people who are Coptic con¬ 
verts flaunt the blue neck thread (the distinguishing badge of the Christ¬ 
ian) in the face of the Jew, and are even more arrogant to the indus¬ 
trious Moslem. During the many interregnums when there was no 
acknowledged king over Abyssinia, the “ Ras,” a grand military chief, 
and the “Aboona”or High Priest of the church, were supreme. The 
power of the Ras is even sometimes greater than that of the living king, 
whom he has often made and unmade. The drum is his ereat insignia 
of office. When the Ras is on the march with his army of gunners 
spearmen and horsemen, forty-four mules loaded each with two drums 
and a drummer, precede the great chieftain. These eighty-eight drums 
comprise the “negarete,” and when the drummers are taken by the 
enemy and the head drummer killed, the battle is counted as irredeem¬ 
ably lost. The different grades of office are also determined by the 
number of drums which the Ras is pleased to bestow. Should a chief¬ 
tain be privileged to beat forty-eight drums, he is held to be next in rank 
to the Ras himself. All proclamations are made by beating the drum. 
When a number of people in the chiefs province are thus collected, the 
drummer repeats the proclamation and it then passes from mouth to 
mouth. This is done with faithful accuracy, for the leading chiefs pos¬ 
sess the power of life and death in their districts. Having received their 
territories from the Ras, they follow him to war with all the soldiers they 
can afford to maintain. 


A NATION OF WARRIORS. 


45 


Let us now march out the Has and his army in line of battle. First 
comes his procession of mules, loaded with the eighty-eight drums; then 
the Ras in trousers, belted war-shirt, open sleeves of handsome silk, and 
an outer skin of some kind bordered with red morocco and ornamented 
with silver. Inclosing his right fore-arm is a silver-gilt ornament, and on 
his head a silver coronet. On his left arm he bears a silver-gilt shield. 
His spears are highly polished, and his sword is a European blade, with 
a handle of rhinoceros horn. Mounted on a spirited horse, this brave 
figure is followed by his gun¬ 
ners, a body of some two 
thousand men, chiefly from 
the Tigre district They use 
flint-locks and many of them 
carry bamboo rests by which 
to insure great accuracy of 
aim. Their dress consists 
of a pair of trousers, either 
ending at the knee or a short 
distance below it, fitting 
close; a belt varying in length 
from 30 to even 180 feet, 
wound round and round the 
body; and a cloth or a kind 
of sheet. The hair is dressed 
in a variety of fashions, 
which are regulated by the 
deeds of valor which have 
been performed. His picked 
spearmen are stalwart war¬ 
riors. They carry round 
shields of buffalo hide, one 
or two spears seven feet in abyssinian crown, 

length, and small sheepskins 

over their shoulders. Following are men of distinguished rank and brav¬ 
ery, well mounted, and the chiefs with their retainers. Some small 
pieces of artillery may bring up the rear. And so the army marches on, 
with its soldiers and camp followers, their bushy heads and all their 
weapons generously anointed with the freshest of butter. 

Although several of the kings and Ras have made attempts to 
introduce European modes of warfare, they have been unsuccessful. The 
signal being given by beat of drum they rush pell-mell upon the enemy, 










































































46 


A NATION OF WARRIORS. 


hurling the spear and re-hurling the spent darts of the foe. The sword 
is seldom brought into requisition, except to carve raw desh at table, and. 
usually is left to rust in the scabbard or get entangled in the dress or 
trappings of the horse. The horsemen with their lances charge fiercely 
into the ranks of the enemy, turn sharply and retreat with their shields 
behind them. The gunners with their weapons upon their bamboo rests 
or upon the knee seem the most demure of any of the combatants, but 
are said to create no little consternation, even handicapped with their 
unimproved weapons and methods. The supernumeraries of an Abys¬ 
sinian army far exceed the fighting force. Few of the soldiers enter 
on a campaign without their wives, and all who have beasts of any kind 
have one or two lads to cut grass and look after them. Besides these 
there is a larcre establishment for each chief. 

O 

Killing is the life of the Abyssinian citizen and soldier, there being 
regular gradations of valor. Each elephant slain counts for forty men. 
A lion is reckoned as four and a buffalo as five, though in Tigre, the 
elephant is despised and the lion counts for ten. Men all count alike ; 
but if a Galla is killed the act is formally celebrated in song, for he is 
both a national and formidable enemy. Strange to say, although in 
some districts, the slaying of an elephant or a buffalo earns the warrior a 
ballad, the killing of a lion never does. With the Gallas, who are remark¬ 
able horsemen and lovers of the noble animal, the death of a horse is 
equivalent to that of a man. The number of prisoners taken or lances 
received upon the shield also counts in fixing the status of bravery. If 
the warrior can reckon up a sufficient number of these latter good marks, 
whenever he enters the house of a chief on feast day he can claim as his 
property the tender hump of the bullock. The death of ten men, or 
their equivalent in beasts, entitles a soldier to plait his hair to its full 
dimensions. The piece of a lion’s mane or the lion’s tail was formerly a 
sign of valor. Such are the rewards bestowed for taking human and 
brute life, although in the case of wild beasts the custom does not seem 
so savage. But the death of a Galla sometimes is followed by a kind of 
a jubilee and festival, taken part in by all the women and men of the 
neighborhood wherein the hero resides. The women take the lead and 
celebrate the event in song and merrymaking. One of their number 
keeps up the song, the others, drawn up in a circle around her, taking up 
the chorus which is accompanied with the clapping of hands and the dis¬ 
cordant notes of the tom-tom. The bodies of the singers are in constant 
motion, with the exception of the head. The slayer of the Galla and the 
chief men of the neighborhood or tribe look on, being expected semi- 
periodically to present the fair singers with a bullock, or money, or 


THEIR LAWS. 


47 


Other valuable consideration. And woe be to him who does not show a 
becoming spirit of generosity on this festive occasion ; for he is unmerci¬ 
fully castigated with the sharp tongue of some soloist whose bitter sar¬ 
casm is taken up in an extemporaneous chorus by her companions. 
That man is henceforth branded as an unworthy member of the tribe. 

THEIR LAWS. 



Although the Abyssinians have laws, they must necessarily be 
crude, from the nature of the people who value human life so lightly. 
Torture, however, is not allowed. As they have no regular prisons the 
“chain” is brought into constant use, sometimes, as in the case of 
European mission¬ 
aries who have been 
arrested for attempt¬ 
ed innovations, it 
being of silver. Both 
parties to a lawsuit 
must find securities 
or be chained to- 
ofether. Men ac- 
cused of murder are 
chained to a soldier 
of the king s guard, 
but unless there is 
some bold distinc¬ 
tion of dress, such is 
the careless disposi¬ 
tion of the average 
Abyssinian that it 

would be impossible to tell which was the accused or the criminal, 
and which the keeper. They may both be drinking and laughing 
together as if they were the best friends in the world, whereas one 
may have committed a grave crime against the other, and be on the road 
to flogging, mutilation, or death. As they drink thus merrily together, 
or walk, chatting, through a village lane, each passer-by will say “God 
loosen you.” The Abyssinians will kill a man for a drink of “arracky” 
(dates and honey fermented in water), but when they see a culprit about 
to be punished by their laws, they are all pity and tears. It may be they 
realize their injustice, though they have not the courage to protest 
against them since their code is a child of the Abyssinian Church. 


ABYSSINIAN HOUSEHOLD. 




































































48 


THEIR LAWS. 


Flogging’ is the punishment for very slight offenses and is inflicted 
with a short-handled ox whij). It is no great disgrace to be flogged pub¬ 
licly, although each blow may strip off a huge piece of flesh. Even 
chiefs of high degree thus suffer for some act displeasing to the Ras. 
Each man of a household is privileged to flog his servant to death, if 
need be, to enforce discipline. Owing to the seething condition of the 
country the servant is usually armed, and therefore a dangerous person 
to get out of bounds. The kind of mutilation practiced is generally 
determined by the chiefs of districts, who have received at least twelve 
drums from the Ras. The offender, who is usually a thief or a rebel, is 
denied all medical assistance, though he may have his leg or his arm cut 
off, his eyes or tongue taken out, or his ears or nose sliced off. The 
head drummer of each chief is the executive, and receives the clothes of 
the offender. Homicide is punishable with death, no distinction being 
made between “malice aforethought” and hot-blooded murder. If a 
man has been heard to threaten another and he is found killed after¬ 
wards, it is not thought necessary to prove who actually committed the 
murder, but the threatener is delivered bound to the relatives of the 
slaughtered man for execution. They may accept the legal blood-money 
(about $120) or they may lead him out to an open space near their 
camp or town, tie him to the stump of a tree (naked from the waist 
up), beat him to death with stones or clubs, or hack him to pieces with 
their lances or swords, — but the code does not “legally” allow torture ! 
Accidental shootings are even punished in the same manner. In this 
way family feuds are perpetuated from generation to generation, and 
although the savage practice originated from the fact that the great 
chiefs of the country found that they could not remain in power if they 
did not wash their hands of all responsibility in such serious matters, 
until this mode of punishment is entirely abolished the country can never 
be anything else than a great quarrelsome family — man fighting man, 
tribe opposed to tribe, and all killing each other and the wild beast. 
There are said to be other punishments inflicted by the chiefs, not even 
recognized by law, such as flaying alive, splitting down with an axe, bury¬ 
ing to the neck alive in the earth, binding the victim naked to an ant 
hill after anointing him with honey or butter, or sewing him up in a 
fresh cowhide and hurling him over a precipice. The story is told that 
once there was a certain wise man attached to the fortunes of a great 
chief, and as his master was besieged in a mountain fort he offered with 
a lens which he carried, to set fire to the enemy’s camp, which was pitched 
upon a plain some distance away. Although he heartily prayed for the 
success of his enterprise, he did not take into account the ridiculous 




ABYSSINIAN FARMERS. 


49 


weakness of his burning-glass—and over the mountain side he went, 
sewed up in the hide of a cow. 

Small differences between the natives are usually brought before the 
elders of the tribe for settlement. They form a kind of jury with 
the nagadaras of the village, or chief of the tribe, or large land owner 
as judge. Seating himself on the ground, attended by his grey 
beards, the plaintiff, defendant and witnesses are brought into court, 
always with shoulders bared. The oath administered and often repeated, 
during the trial is in this form : “ May the King (or the Ras, as the' 
ruling power may be) die if I speak not the truth.” (On the contrary the 
Arabs always swear by the life of a person.) The plaintiff first presents 
his case, all parties to the controversy maintaining a decorous silence. 
When he has finished, he puts a period to his remarks by seizing the 
judge’s cotton robe and making a large knot in the corner. When the 
defendant has concluded, he ties a like knot in the opposite corner. Dur¬ 
ing the progress of the case this tying and untying goes on, it seeming to 
be a part of the court procedure to mark the progress of the suit. The 
cause of the trouble may be a blow or a petty theft, and the award to the 
injured party consists of money, honey, butter, or other food. These 
minor judges are subject to call, night and day. 

ABYSSINIAN FARMERS. 

It requires, in fact, no great amount of perception to see that the 
Ras, his chiefs and sub-chiefs,, the drummers of every grade and the 
judges are the hardest worked individuals in Abyssinia. 

In Abyssinia, as in many other countries, the basis of the state is 
the land, and its farmers stand the brunt of taxation levied for the sup¬ 
port of its military system. They furnish a tax in crops or money to the 
Ras, and oxen to plow his lands or those of the king. They deliver a 
portion of their grain to the governor or chief of their district, and hold 
themselves in readiness to quarter a certain number of soldiers in their 
houses. The governor has a right to take anything for his personal 
subsistence. His daily bill of fare must, truly, have a broad and delight¬ 
ful rano-e—from the tea, coffee and dates of the East to the substantial 

o 

grains and luscious fruits of the West—and he has a hundred pretexts 
for requiring a hundred “extras” from his agricultural subjects. Rich 
and influential landed proprietors are found in all portions of the country, 
but often they choose deep and rugged valleys in order to escape the 
abuses of the soldiery and also, that from the heights covering the 
approaches to their land, their armed and brave peasants may drive away 

4 




50 


ABYSSINIAN FARMERS 


the insolvent warriors who come to seize their crops and herds. The 
consequence is that they are held in wholesome esteem by the militcJi-y 







ABYSSINIAN SLAVE. 

department, and receive the shirt of silk from the Ras himself, as an 
acknowledgment that he cannot get along without them. They therefore 
















































































































































































































































ABYSSINIAN FARMERS. 


51 


form the connecting link between royalty and the people. In seasons 
of war, because of their wide-spread influence and family connections, 
they can forward goods and messengers tc a great distance when a soldier 
dare not quit his camp. Besides being chosen by the people as arbitra¬ 
tors and judges the government entrusts them with the collection of its 
revenue. With the enterprising merchants who brave the Gallaandthe 
Shangalla to bring the products and customs of higher civilizations into 
Abyssinia, these landed lords form a kind of redeeming leaven which, 
with the spread of better principles, may raise the country into a more 
perfect state of union. It is hard to say which class of Abyssinians, 
agriculturists or merchants, lie upon the most uncomfortable bed of 
thorns ; for in six of the towns of the country, judiciously scattered along 
the* chief routes of travel, the government has stationed an official whose 
duty it is to get all he can out of the commercial gentlemen. This officer, 
called “ the chief of merchants,” has minor posts, and if he and his 
assistants are not sufficiently conciliated by money and presents, they 
easily trump up some charge of smuggling or trespassing upon the 
pasturage of a resident, and follow it up with a wholesale confiscation of 
goods. They keep in their pay large bodies of armed men to enforce 
their demands, and as the governor or chiefs generally receive a fixed 
compensation as “ hush money,” their injustice and cruelty are seldom 
punished. The soldier also despises the merchant for his generally 
peaceable disposition and feels fully justified in quartering himself in 
his house whenever he pleases, and acting in the most riotous and insult¬ 
ing manner. With his dangers of travel and his harassed home-life, the 
merchant’s existence cannot be devoid of variety and spice. 

While the husband is away on a campaign, a mercantile journey or 
ploughing, or at home doing nothing, the wife is busy from morning to 
night, spinning the cotton for her dresses and those of her family; sifting 
the corn, grinding it by hand and making it into bread; bringing 
water from the brook on her back, instead of head ; preparing onions and 
peppers; making beer; or trudging to market for what she lacks at home. 
She is dressed in a piece of cotton cloth thrown loosely over the shoul¬ 
ders, undert^eath which is also a cotton garment bound at the waist with 
a simple strip. The upper classes wear trousers when riding, and over 
their undergarments a silk mantle is thrown, sometimes richly orna¬ 
mented with silver-gilt bosses and drops. When abroad nothing but 
the eyes are seen. They wear silver chains round the neck, rings on the 
fingers, and oblong silver drops round the ankles that rustle when they 
move. The hair is plaited in various forms by all classes, though on the 
death of a, relative the head is shaved and fresh butter is spread over the 


5^ 


COPTIC CURIOSITIES. 


scalp mixed with the oil of various spices. The fingers and toes, al.io, 
of the Abyssinian beauty are dyed a rosy tinge. She has servants 
at her command, who, although armed and ready to be called to the 
service of her husband, are content to perform household duties when 
they are not required abroad. One makes the mead, and if he is a gun* 
ner, keeps the house supplied with game. Another guards the corn 
against the thievish forays of the maid-servants and distributes it to all 
the domestics; others are grass cutters or wood cutters. Her maid-serv¬ 
ants grind the corn, clean the stable and cook, and perform all the 
other household labors of a lar^e establishment. The relation existing 
between master and servant, or mistress and servant, is quite familiar 
and pleasant. In return for many little attentions and kindnesses, the 
servant is willing to abide by the law which places his person entirely in 
the hands of his master. Tigre is the only part of the country where 
the Abyssinian pays wages to his servant, though he may be sent on 
journeys of four or five hundred miles. On long journeys two are gen¬ 
erally sent together, so that if one falls on the way before wild beasts, 
wild men, sickness or accident, the message will be more likely to reach 
its destination. 


COPTIC CURIOSITIES. 


The Abyssinian Church is a most astounding combination of 
Jewish and Christian ceremonials and native superstitions. Its priests 

are less intelligent than the 
Copts of Egypt and far more 
powerful, standing in author¬ 
ity next to the military chiefs. 
When the Ras parcels out 
his territory, after he has 
selected his own, they obtain 
the choice bits throughout 
Abyssinia. The Abuna, or 
head of the church, who is 
appointed by the Patriarch 
of Alexandria, holds the 
finest landed property in 
Northern and Southern 
Abyssinia, along the tribu¬ 
taries of the Nile, and also near Gondar where is his principal residence. 
His person is so sacred that he is generally hidden from the public, and 



THE VIRGIN, 













































COPTIC CHRP )S1 TIES. 


53 


,be is supposed to eat nothing but a nauseating physic called “coso,” or 
at most, paiched peas or grain. During reception days, when he blesses 
the prostrate multitude, he is veiled. From the most distant parts of 
Ethiopia the people come to him, and are content to wait for weeks in 
his outer court if at length he will grant them a mysterious audience. 
Next to him in rank is the Superior of the Convent in Shoa, within the 
walls of whose residence there Is a holy well, the waters of which (for a 
consideration) will cure blindness, leprosy and all diseases. There are 
several cities of lefuge in Abyssinia, Axum, the most noted, having 
already been described. These cities are governed by officials appointed 
by the Ras. They are not priests, but must know how to read 
and write and understand the laws. After 
them come the regular priests, whose du¬ 
ties consist of reading the prayers, chant¬ 
ing, administering the sacraments and danc¬ 
ing during religious processions. Their 
dancing consists of a peculiar swaying of 
the body, rather than a free use of the 
limbs. All church services are conducted 
in the Ethiopian tongue, which candidates 
for the priesthood must be able to read. 

They must also be able to sing and grow 
a beard. They pay two pieces of salt 
money for the privilege of being breathed 
upon by the Abuna, and having the sign of 
the cross made over them. The churches 
in the interior of the country are generally 
built on the summit of hills In the midst 
of cypress groves, each of which has a 
sacred ark of the covenant standing- behind 
a curtain in the ‘'holy of holies.” The buildings are usually after the 
Jewish models; round, with conical roofs. Sometimes the tolling of a 
bell, but in most cases the beating of kettle drums, summons the faithful 
to prayers, which are read in a language that few of them can under¬ 
stand. Most of the worshipers. Indeed, merely kiss the floor or walls 
of the edifice, so that in Abyssinia they describe a good Christian thus: 
“He kisses the church.” Some utter extemporaneous prayers, as In 
the case of one overheard by a traveler, which fell devoutly from the 
lips of an old woman: “Oh, Lord, give me plenty to eat and drink, 
good clothes and a comfortable home, or else kill me !” Since wine Is 
scarce in the countr)', the sacramental cup is filled with raisin water. 








































54 


COPTIC CURIOSITIES. 


The calendar is full of saints’ and fast days—two-thirds of the year are 
thus devoted—and at such times the faithful Copt will neither work nor 
suffer others to. In addition to the heroes of the Bible and Apocryphal 
books he has many local saints, who go before them all. One called 
‘‘Tecla Haimanot” holds the seat of honor in the Abyssinian mind. 
He is said to have converted Satan and induced him to become a monk 
for forty days. Then the fortitude of the evil one gave way and he be¬ 
came the devil again. The same remark¬ 
able saint, wishing to ascend the perpendic¬ 
ular sides of a mountain, was accommodated 
by a boa-constrictor which took him up on its 
back. Within the priestly pale of the church 
may also be mentioned the ‘‘aspirants,” who 
during the period of their preparation wear 
the skins of sheep for clothing and beg their 
daily bread. Of the monks of Abyssinia 
some reside in monasteries or act as con¬ 
fessors to warrior chiefs ; others make pil¬ 
grimages to Jerusalem, or dwell in the wil¬ 
derness feedimf on roots. 

Coptic churches, many of them deserted 
entirely, or in charge of a priest or deacon, 
are found scattered throughout the country. 
Some of them are but moss-grown ruins in 
the midst of a dense jungle or hidden in 
groves of cedar and olive trees, the wor¬ 
shipers having been driven away by some 
rival tribe, or deserted the spot on some 
warlike adventure. Even here they remain 
unmolested. The rude Galla, riding along 
on his stanch war-horse, lowers his harsh 
voice in talking with his companion ; for he, 
also, though a Mohammedan, is pervaded 
with the superstition of the country, which 
fears the vengeance of some guardian spirit should axe or fire invade 
their sacred precincts. 

The Abyssinians cling both to the Saturday of the Jew and the 
Su nday of the Christian as holy days, and from Friday evening to Mon¬ 
day morning neither water can be drawn nor wood hewn. These weekly 
holy days, with the continual fast days which they observe, make their 
existence little over-burdened with work. Referring to his Hebrew 
























































































































































































































































































































































































































COPTIC CURIOSITIES 


55 


customs, the contradictions in the nature of the Abyssinian are many 
and inexplicable. His king, when he has one, must be a descendant of 
Solomon; in structure his churches are Jewish Synagogues; the hare, 
the goose and the wild boar are considered by him unclean ; he has his 
ark of the covenant in every church ; the Jew has erected his govern¬ 
ment buildings at Gondar and at Shoa ; has built his monasteries and 
convents, his churches and his houses, if they are more than mean huts; 
the Jew has made his ploughs, has forged his spears and has cast his 
cannon ; yet the Abyssinian will tell you that this useful member of 
society, to whose superior genius and industry he is a continual witness, 
is his embodiment of a most hideous conception of all that is evil and 
uncanny. The Jews, and particularly those who work in iron, are his 
“ Bouddas”; those fiends in human shape, who by the power of their 
sinister eyes enter the bodies of men, women and children, to devour 
them under the guise of various diseases. As hyenas they travel far 
from their own country, and then, assuming human forms, they com¬ 
mence their deadly work. Their king resides on a mountain, and to 
him they daily bring the corpses of those who have neglected to defend 
themselves with charms and amulets. When a hyena is killed, the lance, 
sword or weapons which are stained with his blood are taken to the 
nearest priest to be blessed and sprinkled with holy water, in case he 
should have been a sorcerer. It has been asserted by trustworthy 
natives that they have killed hyenas with earrings in their ears, they 
being females who have forgotten to take them out when they assumed 
the brute form. Among the charms used against the wiles of the 
terrible “Boudda” are the tooth and skin of the hyena; writings from 
the Bible arranged by learned scribes in mystic circles and crosses; 
roots and plants and the leg bones of hawks. The exposure of the 
naked body when many eyes are directed against it, or of the open 
mouth when eating, is considered particularly dangerous; for it is 
impossible to tell what malignant orbs may not be present and doing 
their heinous work. The person into whom the Boudda” has entered 
is taken with a species of fit. followed by a hideous hyena laugh and a 
running-about on all fours. A “ Boudda” doctor having been called, he 
is seized and questioned as to the person who has possessed him. 
.Sometimes he gives the name and location of the “ Boudda” and dis¬ 
closes the charm that will expel the evil one ; occasionally in his frenzy 
he dies. These Jewish sorcerers are also said to change the shape of 
the objects of their incantations, and the natives of Adowa, to this day 
tell of a family whose mother once upon a time turned up missing. 
In vain they searched after her. An old Jew upon an ass often rode 


56 


COPTIC CURIOSITIES. 


past their house and his animai would as often stretch his long head and 
eais toward it and bray with all the strength of his good lungs. A 
light flashed in upon a son’s mind. The Jew was seized, confessed and 
commenced to change the woman into her former self. The transform¬ 
ation had been completed with the exception of a portion of one leg 
and the hoof, when the son, unable longer to contain his anger, killed 
the Jew with his spear, and so to her grave did the poor woman carry 
with her this degrading mark of the “ Boudda.” 

' With such superstitions and excrescences as these are the Abyssinian 
mind and the Abyssinian religion dragged into the mud. In many 
instances the priests cater to such beliefs in order to realize a financial 
harvest from the ignorance and fears of the people. 








THE TARTARS OF AFRICA. 


OW and then the huge, bold Galla has dashed across our 
mental vision, riding his little, wiry, nimble-footed steed. 
H is tall and broad figure, frizzed hair and small eyes, will 
become more familiar to us as we follow him to war against 
the Abyssinian. His color ranges from a light to a dark 
brown. He is an Ethiopian, said to have been descended from 
an Abyssinian princess who married her slave. For three 
centuries or more he has been making dashes into Abyssinia 
and has at length tethered his noble horses in some of its 
southern provinces. His chief has become Negus of his 
enemy’s country, and certainly one woman of his tribe has married a 
native Abyssinian king, thereby causing a great civil disturbance. The 
Galla’s faults are many, but he does not hide them. He believes in war 
and pursues his calling with such a vengeance that he is dreaded, as the 
Tartar of Africa, from the Red Sea to Zanzibar and far into the interior 
of the continent. As a Mohammedan he may journey toward Mecca, 
or he may make a pagan pilgrimage to the sacred trees on the banks of 
the Hawash, in Shoa—but whatever he does he is always a warrior, and 
his home is on the horse’s back. His people are said to number ten 
million, and with all their blood-thirsty ways have the making of a nation 
in them, only awaiting the proper influences to bring order out of chaos. 
On the coast they are mostly nomads, whose caravans meet those of 
the Abyssinians far in the heart of Africa. Those who have possessed 
themselves of portions of Abyssinia and settled in the adjacent provinces, 
are warrior agriculturists. 

ON THE WAR-PATH. 

Said a scarred chief of the Gallas : “ Fighting is breakfast and 

supper to us. What was a horse made for but to fight on, and a man, 
but to die when his time comes?”—and you would not have thought 
his talk bombastic if you could have seen him and his followers plunging 
down a steep hill full of holes and stones, their unshod steeds often 

57 































58 


GALLA HORSES. 


obliged to throw themselves on their hams and “ slide,” and then over 
the honey-combed and tufted hillocks, brandishing their lances and 
shouting their war-cries at the bedizened Ras with his huge drums, 
his picked spearmen and his chosen gunners. Innumerable rills have 
worn the hill-side into a series of channels as smooth as ice, and the 
ground beyond is covered with tufts of grass one or two feet high. But 
down the hill the Walla horsemen plunge, their steeds leaping from 
mound to mound as lightly and surely as cats. Besides the simple 
lances each warrior has a number of short pointed stakes, which when 
he gets within range of the Abyssinian horsemen he throws with great 
precision. His object is to wound or kill the horse, which he considers 
a more important element in the fight than the rider. The Galla horsemen 
urge their steeds into the very ranks of the Abyssinians, discharge their 
lances, spin around like tops and are off like the wind, hanging over 
their horses with their shields behind them. If not pressed too closely 
some of them will be seen now and then, dashing away to a little distance 
and stripping their hide-bound saddles from their war-horses, • allowing 
the steaming animals to roll in the grass or drink at a convenient spring. 
When refreshed the Galla mounts his horse and shouting his war-cry, 
which is often the name of his steed, dashes into the fight. The Gallas, 
especially those who have had generations of warfare in the border 
countries, are unwearied in the saddle. Their horses though fiery, are 
extremely docile, and will generally follow their master, if he dismounts, 
or remain quiet till he returns to them. They would thus describe their 
most valued animal: “ He is a bay with four white legs, white forehead 

and nose, nine spans high, of a fiery spirit, in speed swift as a vulture; 
he will turn in his own length with a thread; his tail is thin, his mane a 
cubit long; in turning he does not change the position of his neck and 
tail; raising his legs in his gallop, he does not seem to touch the ground ; 
he never tires, his marks are lucky and his feet are iron.” The lucky 
marks referred to are patches of curling hair on the forehead or on each 
side of the neck. Although in a level country the nine spans would 
not be considered a point of recommendation, in a hilly country such as 
the Gallas inhabit and in which they fight, their small, sure-footed 
animals are preferable to larger ones. 

GALLA HORSES. 

There probably is no better judge of a horse in the world than a 
Galla. So much of an expert is he, in fact, that although he supplies 
the greater portion of Abyssinia it is seldom that he lets a horse go ou^ 


GALLA HORSES. 


59 


of his country which has not some defect. He will sell what he calls a 
good horse for nine or twelve dollars and an inferior one for three or 
seven, his markets being located in several towns of Southern Abyssinia. 
Leaving the field of battle, and the unequal but savage contest between 
even the crudest of fire-arms and the Galla spear, you cannot realize 
his disposition when you first come into his fertile country. It is one 
of undulating plains and green meadows, thousands of horses content¬ 
edly munching the crisp grass, or with intelligent eyes and arched 
necks looking over wide fields of barley as if to inquire the cause of 
your intrusion. Here and there Galla men are splitting logs for fire¬ 
wood, while beside them, perhaps, is a manly looking fellow, peacefully 
conversing while leaning on his spear. From thousands of clumps of 
trees the bee-shaped huts stand forth, in marked contrast to the squalor 
of Egypt, Nubia and Abyssinia. Each has its neat grass plot before 
the door and if the owner has a cultivated field it is well kept and dis¬ 
tinctly marked. The huts are covered with straw and have a second 
wall within. Once “at home” an opportunity will be afforded to dis¬ 
cover what it is like. You are now supposed to be inside the house of 
one of our host’s wives, — for every man marries as many as he can 
afford to support, giving to each a certain number of strings of beads, 
cows, and a separate house. Each wife in turn, in her own house, 
prepares her husband’s breakfast, supper, mead and butter. She brings 
water for washing his feet, and if the cry of war arises she saddles his 
horse for him while he arms himself with spear and shield or puts on 
his belt and knife. Entering one of these houses the wife is seen 
attired in a hand-woven cotton skirt, ornamented with pieces of blue 
cloth, and by way of petticoat a hide, dressed and softened with butter 
and ornamented with beads. Her daughter, if unmarried, wears only 
the skin. The wife’s husband is well-to-do, which is inferred with cer¬ 
tainty from the fact that she wears many rows of beads around her 
waist, which is a sure index of his worldly condition. She also wears 
massive ivory rings on her arms and ankles. The hair is arranged in 
rino-lets wound round little straws and falling equally from the center, 
except over the eyes where they reach the brows. An ivory comb, 
inlaid with black wood, is thrust in among the ringlets. The husband’s 
dress consists of a kilt made of the cotton cloth, which comes to his 
knees. A long belt of the same material is wound round his waist, 
which supports his double-edged knife. Over his shoulders is thrown 
a large, strong mantle. When the war-cry sounds he throws this aside 
and mounts his horse, either bare from the waist upwards or with the 
skin of a panther or leopard thrown over his shoulders. If the man is 



6 o 


OMENS. 


a noted chief we may find that his hut has been fortified—that is, a 
high stone wall, from which project stout, sharpened beams of wood 
surrounds it. This would be built as a defense against the assaults of 
a rival chief and his horsemen. But such outward exhibitions of the 
warlike character of the people are rare. The husband himself, how¬ 
ever, by his prowess in battle may have earned the privilege of wearing 
upon his forearm great rings of brass, or if he has slain an' elephant 
two or three huge rings of ivory upon his upper arm. If a man of 
wealth he has usually round his neck the fat of a goat, sheep or ox. 

As will be inferred from the foregoing description of his wife’s dress, 
this is the nature of the ornament worn by the Galla whom we have 
found at home. He is rich in cattle and horses, but in his late fight 
with the Abyssinians he has proven that he is a warrior equal to the 
bravest; his hair which is frizzled in various lengths is streaming with 
butter, for he has slain one of the Ras’ chosen gunners or spearmen. 
A portion of the wood which his servants have cut outside is burning 
with a warm glow on his rude hearth, but the fact does not add any to 
his personal beauty, surrounded and permeated, as it is, with the fat of 
beasts. But he has laid aside his long and broad-bladed lance, his 
convex shield of buffalo hide and his cruel knife, and he and his wife 
and daughter sit around a table upon which is a wooden dish contain¬ 
ing bread, curds and peppers. A kind of thick beer which is diluted 
according to the taste of the imbiber, usually accompanies this dish. 
Bread, onions, peppers, butter, milk, beer, mead and mutton seem to 
be the chief components of the Galla’s food, whether he be rich or poor. 
Following the custom of the Abyssinians, if the family be one of any 
prominence and is likely, to have enemies, previous to serving each 
dish, the servant is required to partake of it, as a proof that he had no 
intention of poisoning any member. 


OMENS. 


The omens of the Gallas are almost entirely confined to the exam¬ 
ination of the stomach of slaughtered oxen and sheep. They stretch 
out the layer of fat or membrane, and examine carefully the numerous 
lines that intersect it, as the Trojans and the Greeks did before them. 
They see before them, as if on a map, the result of the fight: They will 
slay ten men or twenty; or if the unlucky membrane, or “mora,” is 
found they will not venture forth at all. On the day of battle before 
mounting their horses they frequently slay several oxen and offer them 
as a sacrifice; or they drink the warm blood of sheep and goats to give 


OMENS. 


6 l 


greater strength to their iron arms. One of the noted chiefs is said to 
have been in the habit of placing a small kid before him in the saddle, 
and to sacrifice it while urging his steed on the enemy, never drawing 
bridle till the same lance was steeping in the blood of a foe. Urged 
on by the belief that they are the favored of the gods, or by the disre¬ 
gard for life which is part of the Moslem’s faith, combined with the 
conscious power of their huge frames and their wonderful skill as horse¬ 
men, it is not strange that they deliberately reject the firearms of the 
less hardy Abyssinian and often drive his armies back in confusion. A 
favorite food of the Galla, when he goes upon a warlike expedition of 
any length, is made by taking the lean portions of a cow and pounding 
them in a large mortar with an equal quantity of honey and of roasted 
barley flour. 1 his is all made into a paste, and softened with a little 
water, makes a simple and nutritious meal. As a rule, the Abyssinian 
Galla prefers to make short expeditions into an enemy’s country, 
returning to his home after each fight. Often he bears back with him 
the most hideous trophies, such as the entrails of his foe tied around 
his waist or entwined in his greasy hair. 

Brought up from their childhood to be familiar with blood and 
broken limbs, the Gallas have developed much surgical talent, 
although their operations are often accompanied with seeming cruelty. 
A soldier fell from his horse and broke his forearm and a Galla surgeon 
was called. He bound the arm tightly from the elbow to the shoulder 
with a narrow strap. Then taking a heavy piece of iron he proceeded 
cooly to pound the fractured part as a cook does the beefsteak. After 
all the bones in the forearm had been thoroughly broken he wound 
around it the leaves of a medical plant and held all in place by a frame¬ 
work made of split bamboo. Then he placed his patient, who, up to 
this point, had been unconscious, on a slender diet. After a time he 
feasted him on the good of the land, and the bones knitted together 
with entire success. For many years it is stated that the Gallas have 
been in the habit of opening the stomachs of those who are too fat and 
.removing the superfluous layers. In trepanning, pieces of gourd are 
used in place of silver, and some of their warriors’ heads resemble noth¬ 
ing so much as these plants. 

Most of the tribes in the Galla country are governed by chiefs, 
some of them hereditary and some chosen on account of their bravery. 
There are several singular republics, or democracies, however, and the 
theory has been advanced that, at one time, they were all of this nature. 
Among these communities no such word as “command” is recognized, 
and every man is absolute lord not only of his own land, but of the 


62 


OMENS. 


public road which passes before his hut. This peculiarity is not always 
ag;reeable to the traveler, as when passing through their territories he is 
liable at any moment to see a wild Galla horseman dashing toward him 
and demanding tribute in money or goods for the privilege of contin¬ 
uing his journey over the republican’s land or along its borders. But 
if he is acquainted with the ways of the country the traveler may put 
himself under the protection of some influential Galla who answers for 
him in every difficulty which may arise. In these communities even the 
well-to-do farmer, who has everything he may desire, ploughs his own 
ground, reaps his own corn, guards his own cattle at pasture and splits 
his own firewood. His servant, if he has one, sits with him and his wife 
at table, drinks his share of beer and mead, and is in all ways treated 
as an equal. Slaves are so only in name, having usually a house and 
land of their own which descends to their children. Matters of public 
interest, such as difficulties with other tribes, are discussed by the elders 
in the open air. They stand in a circle, leaning upon their spears, but 
no young man is allowed to be heard in these public meetings. The 
laws fix the price of a wound inflicted with the point of the lance at 
forty head of cattle; that inflicted with the double-edged knife is 
deemed of no account unless it produces death. In all cases not pro¬ 
vided by law the decision rests with the gathering of elders. They are 
both judges and executors and when all agree as to the punishment they 
combine to inflict it, even to the burning of the house and destroying 
the whole property of the offender. The lawsuits on account of land 
are few, and generally such disputes are settled before they reach the 
elders. The great institutions are their markets, one of which is held 
daily in each district of the republic. The women from other tribes 
attend these markets, passing unmolested from one to the other though 
they might be at war with one another. 

One of the most noted of these popular forms of government is 
Goodroo, the first Galla province reached after crossing the Nile from 
Abyssinia. It is estimated to average over 100,000 people, and its posi¬ 
tion as a frontier province makes the territory bordering on Abyssinia a 
great battle field. Its sheep and cattle are justly celebrated and it 
possesses springs flowing from a mineral earth strongly impregnated with 
salt to which they are periodically driven to drink. The owners, also, 
are in the habit of driving their cattle to pasture on the frontier lands 
which are necessarily uncultivated. Here is the scene of many fierce 
encounters between them and neighboring tribes. This republic, being 
hemmed in by foes on all sides who look with jealous eyes on its pros¬ 
perity, has need to be a nation of brave warriors. Imagine a hundred 


NORTHERN GALLAS. 


63 


Of more of the horsemen of Goodroo thus leading their cattle to pas¬ 
ture. They have scores of unsettled feuds on their hands and several 
tribes have combined to take them and their herds unawares. Suddenly 
the quiet of a beautiful day is broken by a distant rumble which may be 
thunder, but a moment later over a rising slope of land two or three 
thousand wild warriors come rushing like a hurricane. They come on, 
in apparent confusion, with the bridles on their horses necks, their long 
tresses and panther skins streaming behind them, lance points and arm- 
lets glittering in the sun, rending the air with wild shouts and screams. 
Though at first appalled by the inequality of numbers the Goodroo 
chiefs and men of wealth rush forward to meet their assailants, while 
the footmen clanging their spears against their shields frighten the 
cattle to the rear. It is such dangers as these that the warriors of 
Goodroo have to meet and overcome. 

NORTHERN GALLAS. 

The most northern tribe of the Gallas, separated from the Red 
Sea by a narrow strip of country, also live under some such crude 
republican form of government as the Goodroos. In this country cattle 
are bred with such immense horns that, made into drinking vessels, 
they will contain four or five gallons of liquid. The men are brave 
and numerous, but have the blood-thirsty traits which disfigure 
the Gallas as a people. Their province is low and hot, and though they 
breed no horses they import them in sufficient numbers to keep up the 
reputation of the Gallas as a great nation of horsemen. 

The Somaulies occupy the eastern peninsula of Africa which 
extends into the Indian Ocean, and extend their commercial operations 
over Arabia and far into Africa. They are a pastoral and trading 
people and hold the proud honor of being the only one which can live in 
peace with the Gallas. They are remarkable for beauty of feature and 
ease of address, though they have a hideous habit of frizzing the hair 
to resemble the fleece of a sheep and staining it yellow with ocher. 
Great fairs are held in their province, caravans bringing to them gum- 
arabic, myrrh and incense, and African princes sending them gold, 
ivory, melted butter, slaves, camels, horses, mules and asses. What of 
these valuables they cannot dispose of at their fairs they carry abroad in 
their own vessels. The Somauli land includes the once famous king¬ 
dom of Adel, the unrelenting and destructive Moslem foe of Christian 
Abyssinia. They also divide much of the coast region with the Gal¬ 
las. 


64 


NORTHERN G A LEAS. 


The Somaulies include a number of tribes, being a mixture of the 
Gallas and Arabs. The western tribes, or those near the Galla country, 
are more like their warlike neighbors than those inhabiting the districts 
lying along the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. Their principal 
port and mart, where a fair is held for several months of the year, is 
Berbera, on the Gulf of Aden. Not only do their merchants send the 
products of Eastern Africa across to Aden, Mocha and other points on 
the Arabian coast in their own vessels, jealously excluding foreign craft, 
but they have established houses in Arabia, and aim, if possible, to keep 
the carrying trade and the importing entirely under their own control. 
In fact, their jealousy of the Arabs amounts almost to hatred. 

Although more polished, as a rule, than the Gallas, the Somaulies 
are intensely superstitious, and live generally in mat-houses. Slavery 
exists among them, the mountainous regions of the interior being 
inhabited by one tribe which is nearly white, the women being highly 
prized by the Somaulies. The men are seldom taken, preferring to fall 
in the fight. 

The most important division of the Somauli country is Ajan, 
which extends from Cape Guardafui to Zanzibar. It was known to the 
ancients, Rhaptum, the capital, being the southern limit of the Greek 
explorations. The southern coast and interior are sandy and barren, 
there being a mountainous tract, and an elevated table-land in the north. 








THE EAST AFRICANS. 



aNZIBAR, or Zanguebar, is at most but an arbitrary distinc¬ 
tion which has been made by the Portuguese to distinguish 
the tribes living along the coast from the river Zuba to Cape 
Delgado, where their own acknowledged possessions com¬ 
mence under the name of Mozambique. At one time these 
tribes, called by the natives “ Sawhylee ” (coast people) were 
under the nominal control of Oman, a province in South¬ 
eastern Arabia, being governed more directly by the seyid or 
sultan whose seat of government is on the island of Zanzibar. 
The sultan is now quite independent of Oman, and the 
“coast people” are so independent of him that his authority is 
scarcely recognized beyond the towns on the island garrisoned by his 
troops. In the palmy days of the slave trade these coast tribes were 
of great assistance to the Portuguese in the “ running off” of slaves, but 
later since the decided attempts made by England and other countries 
to suppress the abomination, the negroes of the interior boldly 
assault them and drive many of them from their towns. The Gallas, 
also, have been a scourge to them, their ferocity increasing as their 
tribes stretch south. Those who have remained are more civilized, 
necessarily, than most of the tribes of the interior of Eastern Africa 
who have not had the benefit of their slight contact with Asiatic and 


European civilization. Some of these interior tribes do not bury their 
dead. Others still have hideous games in which men are sacrificed. 
Most of these savage tribes, however, as well as those more advanced 
are still suspicious of strangers, for notwithstanding agreements and 
treaties, slave hunters, under a variety of disguises, are not uncommon. 
No communication with a stranger or with an adjoining tribe is allowed 
without express permission from a“baraza, ”or assembly of chiefs. 
The punishment of braving such a regulation is often death. Tracts 
of land are purposely laid waste and desolated upon the frontiers of 
many tribal territories, where armed scouts, generally old elephant 
hunters, are able to report the approach of strangers at the earliest 
possible moment. And much cause have the most savage of them for 


























66 


ZANZIBAR. 


such fears, since a slave-dealer’s raid is the synonym for desolation and 
death, and burned and ruined settlements mark its track. 

Many of the coast people and those who live quite a distance west 
have not only adopted some of the characteristics of the Arabian dress, 
but the habits of that people. They are quite intelligent and brave, 
and make good guides. Their huts are quadrangular, thatched with 
cocoanut leaves and generally surrounded by small vegetable gardens. 
The women wear brass ornaments, armlets and anklets, and a blue 
calico strip wound round the body under the armpits and flowing to 
the knees. Their arms are spears, a heavy pruning knife and flint 
muskets. They manufacture earthen cooking pots and cook in them 
over a fire built within three larofe stones. Millet and Indian corn are 
the staple food, and fish abound in every stream and pool One of 
their fishing customs is to make a huge roll of straw, mud and sticks, 
with which they force the fish into shallow water and barricade them 
there; then everybody proceeds to the sport of catching his game 
more securely by spearing them and beating them with sticks. 

Along the river banks of Zanzibar and Mozambique for many miles 
inland are to be found thickly populated villages. Unless molested the 
people are industrious and peaceful, cultivating large fields of tobacco, 
the produce being exported to the coast districts. Getting as far west 
as Lake Nyassa, for instance, the tribes are more savage. They tattoo 
their faces, wear skin aprons, but seem to have been taught the value 
of flint guns. Their larger towns are laid out rudely in streets and 
each hut is surrounded by a fenced-in garden. This region seems to be 
a favorite gathering place of the great crocodiles, hippopotami and 
elephants of Africa, and between them and the keeping of a sharp 
lookout for strangers and warlike tribes, the people around the lake are 
generally in a state of commotion. Here is the scene of many of the 
labors of the lamented Livingstone. 

Even among some of the tribes who go entirely naked are found 
evidences of skill In various ways. The members of one of these “ go- 
nakeds” paint the body and face with a white clay or chalk; but 
although they indulge in this childish fashion they have the sense to 
fashion from a bluish clay certain oval lumps about the size of ostrich 
eggs which they bake in the sun, and fit neatly into a framework of 
wood or bamboo, thus forming a wall for their huts. These are either 
round or square, with peaked roofs and built and thatched with great 
skill. Their spears, which have long, sharp barbs, are made of very 
white native iron and the shafts are often Inlaid with a delicate tracery 
of brass and copper wire. Their chief wears an enormous feather 
head-dress, 



ZANZIBAR. 


67 


As a rule large villages are uncommon, but hamlets appear on all 
sides, surrounded by farms. The chiefs appear to have really little 
control of the people who live in the Lake Nyassa region, and who are 
among the most advanced of Eastern Africans away from the coast. 
Many of their farms lie in the valleys or among the mountains, and their 
possessors appear to breathe the air of independence, dirty, naked and 
lazy though most of them are. But notwithstanding all their faults 
they are certainly advanced, speaking from an African standpoint. 
They, however, hold to the universal idea that it is best to throw every 
obstacle in the way of travelers, and perhaps the most important 
function of the chieftainship is to call the warriors together for the 
purpose of doing a good deal of grunting, and finally, after a sufficiently 
vexatious delay, passing the traveler along to the next chief. Still a 
warrior will occasionally “make” himself felt, and actually consolidate 
a number of tribes governed only nominally by weaker chiefs. Villages 
are then burned by the invader or the besieged, and upon the conclu¬ 
sion of the war one of the conqueror’s favorite wives may be sent to 
him as the most agreeable courier to tell him of the general rejoicing. 
She is escorted by leading men of the tribe and drummed into camp 
with great ceremony. The band have drums shaped like a claret-glass, 
with a foot to rest upon the ground. They are held with one hand and 
played in a most vigorous manner with a thin hard stick, terminating in 
a knob. This drumming continues all day, and really the time is good 
and a variety of tunes can be recognized. The great chief himself 
sometimes condescends to lead the band. After a sufficient season of 
rejoicing has passed, the army marches for his capital. This may be a 
large collection of huts, and surrounded by a stockade which has scores 
of gates through which thousands of cattle are driven every morning to 
pasture. West of Nyassa Lake are the Cazembe, a nation of jet-black, 
robust negroes with a good beard and red eyes. 

ZANZIBAR. 

Since the decline of Portugal as a commercial nation the trade of 
East Africa has been concentrating in Arabian hands, with the island 
of Zanzibar as the base of operations. Here formerly was the open 
market and distributing point for slaves. In a sandy square surrounded 
by ruined houses and high back walls, long parallel rows of haggard 
men, women and children, with the vacant African stare, or groups of 
dark eyed beauties from the mountains, decked in bright-colored 
garments, were exposed for sale like sheep or horses. Their mouths 


68 


THE ABORIGINES. 


were opened and teeth examined for signs of disease, their limbs 
handled, their hands and nails looked over. These sales were once of 
daily occurrence, and yet there was no diminution of the slave supply; 
for the forests and plains, the villages and hamlets and farm huts were 
under the sharp eyes of Arabs, Gallas and Portuguese, looking for par¬ 
ticularly valuable specimens with which to meet the demands of greed 
and lust. 

THE ABORIGINES. 

Across the island from the town, with everything that is foreign 
and miscellaneous, live the remnant of the original inhabitants. They 
speak a dialect of their own and live by farming and fishing. On an 
elevated ridge, below which runs a river, stands their ancient palace, a 
square and massive building. Passing through a ruined gateway of the 
once fortified wall surroundinof the mansion, one is oblio^ed to climb 
over masses of rubbish before he can reach the foot of the staircase 
leading to a large covered verandah opening upon the inner court. 
Erom the verandah he may look across a chasm,caused by the falling 
in of the floor of the great reception room, at a row of enormous 
mirrors against the far wall. If the kindly-mannered old gentleman is 
still living, the last male survivor of the native royal family, he will 
receive his visitor and take him to the only habitable room of the 
palace, with its silken mattresses and pillows. 

Evidences are seen of the visits of the Portuguese, who made vain 
attempts to dislodge the ruling family; these evidences remain in the 
shape of an immense number of wild pigs, descendants of the old 
imported stock, which overrun the low jungle country and do much 
damage to the crops. The village of the aborigines is approached 
through a large grave yard. It faces a large and well-protected bay, 
whence an estuary extends fora considei'able distance inland and almost 
divides Zanzibar into two islands. Independence here is general. 
There are no slaves among this people, but they all seem to live upon a 
friendly equality, under the guidance of an exceedingly old sheik, whose 
insignia of office is a long peeled willow wand. Both he and the last of 
the royal family declare that the Arabs shall yet be dispossessed of the 
land, but their little community and their large grave yard do not 
warrant the supposition that theirs shall be the expelling hand. 

The sultan s residence, even, is not a very imposing structure. It 
stands at the inland extremity of the harbor. From it a line of stone 
houses should form an imposing crescent, but only two of the houses 
are habitable and the others have stopped short at the first story. A 


THE ABORIGINES. 


69 

low thatched barn does duty for the custom house, and the boldly 
designed streets are choked up with rank grasses and brushwood. The 
houses, for the most part, are not well preserved, though the bazaars 
are well filled with merchandise. 

In numbers the Rufiji are the most numerous of the natives of 
Zanzibar. 1 hey are intensely black. The men wear iron armlets, the 
women aprons of dressed hide. The latter also ornament themselves 
with fetich necklaces, to which are attached pieces of horn, bone and 
shells. The guns used are often adorned with brass-headed nails driven 
into the stocks, while the spears and bows and arrows are neatly finished 
off with brass wire. Near every village bark beehives are fixed on 
cross-branches about six feet from the ground. The villages themselves 
are built with one long central street, and the wattled huts are construct¬ 
ed with a circular verandah-porch over the door-ways. 

But enough of Zanzibar. It is a country where there is little which 
is unique in the native population, whose condition may be described as 
an incessant contest of greed, cruelty and cunning, with laziness, brutal¬ 
ity and ignorance. Slaves are not now hunted through the woods by 
bold Englishmen, with their native allies and slave boats blowing up all 
along the coast, but the business has almost been legislated and driven 
from the island, being surreptitiously conducted on the continent. We 
have thus coasted along the territory of Eastern Africa, which was known 
to the ancients under the names of Azania, Zingis, and the “Spice-Bear¬ 
ing Region.” ‘‘ The Portuguese, after discovering the passage round 
the Cape of Good Hope, occupied all the most advantageous maritime 
stations upon this coast, from which they studiously excluded every other 
people. Their first conquest was Mozambique ; the next, Mombaza; 
but after this they gradually relaxed in their efforts to subjugate the 
country, although at the close of the sixteenth century, they were in 
possession of numerous settlements along the shore. Becoming 
involved, however, in hostilities with the Arabs they lost their posses¬ 
sions, one after another, till after the close of the century they were 
stripped of nearly all their territories in Eastern Africa. The Arabs 
had long before planted the Mohammedan religion along the coast; 
they now aimed at securing its trade, and in fact obtained a footing heie 
and there. But it is at Zanzibar Island and its neighborhood alone that 
they have succeeded in forming a permanent establishment.” 

Much of the trade is also being obtained by Hindus, who some¬ 
times invest their own capital, and sometimes act for English and 
American houses. Their headquarters are usually in the coast towns, and 
through the tireless Arab travelers they are enabled to collect ivory 




THE AiK)RiGiNES. 

from the coasts of Western Africa, and in exchange distribute weapons, 
trinkets and clothing to the natives. The Hindu traders usually act as 
custom house officials, buying certain districts of the Island of Zanzibar 
and collectine the revenue due the Sultan. 

As has been stated, enough has been said regarding the natives of 
Zanzibar; but after recording a few facts about the country itself, we 
propose to follow a great river into the interior of Africa and discover 
some of the most singular tribes of the continent. Southern Zanzibar is 
watered by several rivers, and is included among those mysterious 
regions to which the early Hebrew kings sent their ships and brought to 
Israel the riches, fragrance and lusciousness of Eastern lands. Both 
gold and silver mines, covered with the tropical growths of centuries 
have been discovered in Zanzibar, and the river districts not only grow 
the fruits of the South, but the grains and spices, the great forests fur¬ 
nishing timber, India rubber and copal in inexhaustible quantities. 
Every animal common to the continent finds a home in this region, and 
even sheep, goats and fowls add to the bewildering variety. The 
country has been little explored beyond the sources of the rivers, but 
what is known of it excuses the reports brought back to Portugal by the 
early navigators, which were long considered fiction. It is somewhat 
singular, however, that in these stories told about the tribes of Africa 
little stress was laid upon anything but the savage phase of life and the 
riches of the land. 




MOZAMBIQUE. 



N early times the Portuguese occupied the most favorable mari¬ 
time stations along the coast, but the Arabs have supplanted 
them by force of arms and commercial craft. Mohammedan¬ 
ism is therefore rapidly spreading among the East African 
tribes, notwithstanding the efforts of Christian missionaries. 
The average African, however, is more prone to believe in evil 
spirits and the Medicine man or Rain-maker than in anything 
else, and the native tribes of Mozambique are no exception to 
the rule. The country formerly supplied most of the East, 
Egypt and the West Indies with slaves. Later it had a strong 
rival in Zanzibar, and now since the slave trade is being gradually extin¬ 
guished even in the country of the Portuguese, Mozambique is declining 
in prosperity, and its commerce is almost confined to supplying the Arabs 
with ivory in return for fabrics and produce from India. Eor the want of 
an energetic government, this rich country, which was one of the Eldo- 
rados of the middle ages, the supposed Ophir of the Scriptures, and all 
that is naturally splendid — this rich child of nature is given over to the 
same class of obscure tribes, which inhabit the regions to the north. 
The tale goes that centuries ago, before even the Portuguese had set foot 
upon these shores, the country was governed by the great tribe of Mono- 
motapans. The people were warlike and enterprising, their black cattle, 
ivory and gold being celebrated the world over. Hundreds of minor 
tribes were subject to their sway, the kingdom being divided into seven 
provinces. When the Portuguese beat around Cape Horn and com¬ 
menced to plant their standards and their colonies along the African 
coast they still found 

A POWEREUL AND RICH EMPIRE, 


but not strong enough to resist their ambitious aims. They overran 

the land and the native empire fell into fragments, which now exists in 

these insignificant tribes; and the seven grand provinces of Mono- 

motapa are still retained, in shadow by the districts or captaincies into 

which Mozambique is divided by its Portuguese officials. 

71 


























72 


Mozambiqui^. 


The native chiefs are the rulers of such tribes as remain. Zumbo, 
on the Zambesi river, was their ancient capital and at the beginning of 
the present century was still the seat of the most powerful of these 
tribes. Along the banks of the river, especially at Its headwaters and 
far to the west, are found towns and peoples showing a far higher grade 
of civilization than in most portions of the continent so distant from the 
coast; It seems probable that this line of travel would take us into the 
best that remains of the kingdom of the Monomotapa. Their affairs 
are transacted by an assembly of chiefs, presided over by a king or the 
most powerful of their number. Some of them live In large towns, of 
regularly built wooden houses plastered with mud — which, by the way, 
are often erected by the women, who likewise till the ground. The men 
tend the cattle, manufacture pottery, prepare skins, smelt Iron and cop¬ 
per, and go to war. But although 
some of these tribes evince an under¬ 
standing of the fundamental princi¬ 
ples of government, and some ideas 
of justice and the conveniences of life, 
they are hooded with superstition 
and cling to the most terrible of cus¬ 
toms. If their country is parched 
by continued drought, the elders of 
the tribe or the council of the tribes 
assemble and call for the rain maker, 
who may be hundreds of miles away, 
trying to relieve some other stricken 
community. If he fails he has a 
plausible reason for his failure. If 
he succeeds, he is held more than ever in fearful awe. A story is told 
of one who arrived upon the scene of action just as the storm-cloud 
rolled up from the distance. Performing a few magic ceremonies and 
mumbling to himself, he threw himself on his back and had scarcely 
time to point his toes at the clouds before they emptied themselves of 
their welcome charge. 

I hough the superstitions and religious beliefs and customs vary, 
even of those tribes who speak the same dialect, a majority of the tribes 
along the Zambesi and its tributaries bury their dead In a sitting posture. 
This Is especially the case with the Bechuanas, whose language is spoken 
almost from the Atlantic Ocean to Mozambique, and whose peculiarities 
are at present mostly under observation. When they perceive that'the 
moment of dissolution Is near at hand, they throw a skin or net over the 



GRAVE OF A DAMARA. 
















A POWERFUL AND RICH EMPIRE. 


73 


Sick man’s body, which being drawn up into the proper posture, is held 
there until “rigor mortis” sets in. The inside of the burial pit is care¬ 
fully rubbed with a certain root which is supposed to have an embalming 
effect, a small bush is placed directly over the cranium for a tomb-stone, 
and provisions are placed near the grave. The Darmas, who have 
villages to the north of the river, are particular devotees of this custom, 
as are also the Damaras, a branch tribe, who live far to the southwest. 
One reason for this singular burial custom is said to be that although 
they believe in a future state, they have no respect for the body, and wish 
to bury it in the least possible space. They therefore bore a hole with 
a large auger about ten feet deep, and into this pit the body is placed. 
'[ hese people, although they treat the body so harshly, offer up prayers 
to their deceased parents, and have a deity whom they call Umerura. 
Besides, each tribe or family has its guardian angel, which is the prin¬ 
cipal object of worship. They believe that man is of vegetable origin, 
and that the races of men spring from various kinds of trees. In many 
of their villages, therefore, they have trees into whose trunks are fast¬ 
ened various representations of human heads, and to which they pay a 
kind of worship. The Darmas live principally upon milk and vege¬ 
tables. They naturally have a superstitious feeling about eating the flesh 
of animals, since they believe that the ghosts of the departed always 
bear the likeness of some animal. There are many peculiarities of their 
superstitious beliefs, which seem to stamp them as offshoots from the 
systems of the East • the theory of transmigration of the soul in par¬ 
ticular. Although the Darmas are a fine race of men, many of them 
over six feet in height, they are remarkably short lived. Their climate 
is unhealthful, since their country is thickly sprinkled with extensive 
lagoons, and a malignant type of bilious fever creates great havoc 
among them. The people of both sexes go scantily clothed, and the 
men wear no ornaments whatever, thinking them only fit for the women. 
The Darmas have no intoxicating drinks; but taking the hollow horn of 
an antelope, in the smaller end of which is inserted a clay cup for their 
hemp-seed or tobacco, they light its contents and inhaling vast quantities 
of the smoke, they swallow the fumes ; this produces a stupefaction which 
answers all the purposes of intoxication. In common with most of the 
Bechuana tribes the Darmas have a great regard for the cow, which 
feeling they perhaps inherit from their distinguished ancestors of the 
coast, and they have a superstitious notion that to rinse the earthen pans 
in which they keep their milk will prevent that lowly quadruped from 
furnishing her usual supply. 


5^4 MOZAM.BIQUt:. 

MANLY SPORT. 

About the only kind of so-called “manly sport” in which the Darmas 
engage is hunting the hippopotamus which commits such ravages upon 
their gardens and plantations; and this is the way they pursue their 
national enemy. First they construct a raft of reeds upon which five or 
six of the hunters float down the stream with their iron harpoohs, cords 
and other implements. The iron head of the harpoon is fastened 
securely to one end of a pole about ten feet in length, and a cord made 
of leather thongs, to the other. To the cord is also aflixed a buoy. 
The raft having reached the settlement of the hippopotamus, the hunters 
anchor and look the orround over. As soon as the snout of their victim 

o 

appears above the water the harpooner lets fly his weapon to the point 
which he knows will reach the bulky side of the river-horse. When the 
harpoon has struck home the party seize the line and paddle for the 
shore, in case the commotion caused by the throes of the hippopotamus 
does not threaten to capsize the craft. Should there be that danger the 
buoy attached to the harpoon line keeps the whereabouts of the brute 
within knowledge. If the hunters keep out of the way of his yawning 
jaws they eventually see one more of their enemies go the way of all 
flesh ; but should the hippopotamus anticipate their intentions of slipping 
the line around a tree and hauling him to shore, and “get there” 
first, the harpoon still sticking in his tough side and driving him more 
and more frantic, his cavernous jaws with their cruel teeth and tusks 
may snap a Darma in two or hideously maim him. If he comes upon 
the hunters in the water their danger is still more imminent. 

The nation to the east of the Darmas is patriarchal in its form of 
government like most of the native tribes. The hut of each head of a 
family is the center of a circle composed of the houses of his sons, 
daughters and sons-in-law. Each circle of huts is called a “cootla,” and 
over all the king rules. There are “little lords” or counsellors to the 
king, before whom minor disputes are brought, with the privilege of 
appealing to the prime ruler. When the case comes before the king 
each of the lords expresses his opinion. The king then sums up the 
case and generally goes with the majority. This “nation’s” king, or 
head chief, is called “Emperor” by the Portuguese, who pay him 
tribute in consideration of the protection which he gives to their com¬ 
merce. He has a body-guard of five Portuguese soldiers, who pace 
around his hut or before its entrance with majestic steps. The king is 
attired in an apron which falls to his knees, and his subjects are gay 
dressers and great lovers of fire-arms. They do not seem particularly 


75 


A CIVILIZED TKILE. 

warlike, but love the guns for their own sakes and will sometimes pay 
$150 to $200 in gold-dust for an ordinary rifle not worth a tenth of 
that sum. Iron and copper mines are plentiful in their territory and 
gold is also produced. They keep the location of the latter deposit, 
however, a profound secret, though they may exchange it, ounce for 
ounce, for coffee or sugar. The Beloondas are polygamists, but every 
wife has a hut to herself of which she is such complete mistress that her 
husband, though he be the king himself, cannot enter when she is absent. 

A CIVILIZED TRIBE. 

To the west of the Darmas live a singular people, whose Intelligent 
love of cattle and the high estimate they place upon them, as well as the 
wisdom of many of their institutions, cannot but recall to mind that the 
ancient Monomotapans valued their cattle more than they did their 
gold, and that they were also wise. The cattle are of an enormous 
breed, and they take pains that it shall .remain pure. The complexion 
of the Kalolos Is a shade lighter than even that of the Hottentots, and 
their hair is long, black and straight. They are tall and their forms are 
symmetrical and commanding, their features being of an almost Euro¬ 
pean cast Their land is fertile and produces all kinds of grain, tobacco, 
watermelons and vegetables. Being a pastoral people, and yet living 
In a land of wild beasts, they are not gathered Into towns and villages, 
but homesteads, surrounded by high palisades, dot the entire surface of 
the country. Their principal article of diet is a sort of hasty pudding,’' 
made by boiling meal In water. This they eat with milk. Articles of 
crockery ware, iron and copper are manufactured by them in quite a 
skillful manner, and they have likewise a variety of home-made musical 
instruments. Polygamy is generally practiced, the king having some¬ 
times more than a hundred wives, but the nation seems to be directed 
by a kind hand and many of Its regulations (not to give them the name 
of laws) are worthy of imitation. The glories of war they hold In great 
contempt, and they have never been known to make any encroachments 
upon the territory of their neighbors. No precautions are taken to 
prevent thefts and robberies. The secure condition of the country seems 
to launch one, at a bound, from the Africa of to-day into the golden age 
of old Sparta when Lycurgus made her laws. When a Kalolo wishes 
to dispose of an article, large or small, he attaches It to a sprig of palm 
tree and leaves It In a space enclosed by palisades. When one goes to 
this market-house or bazaar to make a purchase he selects the article he 
wants and puts In its place what he considers a fair equivalent. Their 


N 


A CIVILIZED TRIBE. 


76 

money is a pebble, ground to an octagonal shape, about one-eighth of 
an inch in thickness. It varies in size according to its value. The 
money is “coined” under the king’s authority, and he never allows more 
of it to circulate than is absolutely necessary to make exchanges. Coun- 
terfeiting is an unknown crime. 

Between the countries of the Kaloios and. the Darmas is the Ba- 
lotze nation, or Makololo. Unlike the Darmas, who have no commu¬ 
nications with the coast settlements, they are a trading people of some 
pretension, and, as if to shame their simple neighbors, both men and 
women seem determined to load their bodies with all the gaudy orna¬ 
ments they can carry. In appearance they stand between the Moor 



and the negro, and probably belong to the diversified Ethiopian stock. 
.The men dress in Turkish trousers and roundabout jackets, made of a 
calico which is ornamented with the prints of large, brilliant-hued flow¬ 
ers. The women wear petticoats made of the same material, and both 
are loaded down with ornaments of beads and copper, arranged on 
necks, arms and ankles. The canoes of the Barotze nation swarm the 
Zambesi river, and their gaudy merchants are bold and enterprising. 
These people present the strange spectacle of a nation of savages giving 
woman a little more than equal rights with man. A majority of the 
chiefs are of the female sex, and the nation has been often governed by 
a queen. Men and women, being reared in the same manner from 
infancy, engage in the same occupations and are exposed to the same 
hardships. 











A CIVILIZED TRIBE. 


77 


Their immediate neighbors, before the Darmas country is reached, 
are a tribe or nation with a very long name who also trade up and down 
the river, and are given to finery and bright-colored calicoes, bombazines 
and alpacas. They are far less intelligent, however, than the Makololos, 
or the Barotze nation. They worship lions, elephants and serpents, and 
consider it impious to resist them ; so that a lion or an elephant or a 
huge boa may bear away one of their number or kill him before their 
eyes, and they will witness the sight with a joyful clapping of hands, 
believing that their friend has been thus selected for some sort of a para¬ 
dise. The national dances of this people are always celebrated by the 
light of the full moon, and a lion has been known to stalk in among the 
warriors and head men of the tribe and bear away his victim in his jaws. 
Should they molest the monster in any way they fear that they will bring 
down a curse upon the nation from the mighty spirit which dwells within 
the body of the majestic beast. 

Was there ever so bewildering a combination of ignorance and 
wisdom, virtue and vice, religion and superstition as we find among the 
tribes and nations of Africa, and especially those who have even a slight 
communication with the outer world of recognized civilization ! Such 
tribes and nations as these alonor the Zambesi River live in the 
debatable land of those philosophers whose lives are spent in efforts 
to ascertain whether savage life is really infancy or approach¬ 
ing senility; whether, upon the whole, looking the world over, 
there are not as many solemn examples of retrogression, as inspiring 
instances of progression. The world decides that the world does move, 
but there is no more enticing field in the universe to the ethnologist 
than Southern Africa, where the brightest fragments of savagery lie 
away from contact with European nationalities; and yet the world does 
move, although the tribes of Southern Africa, beyond the Zambesis, 
who have had the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English as masters 
and teachers, show a lamentable aptness in gathering to themselves the 
worst vices of the immigrants. The statement regarding the progress of 
the world will have to be repeated, even when the spectacle is presented 
of civilized nations teaching their worst vices to these children—the 
redeeming features of the picture will be painted as the panorama moves 
on to Australia. 

Southern Mozambique is between the Zambesi River and the 
Transvaal, or Dutch Republic—established by the Dutch farmers to 
escape the clutches of the English. This country, known as Sofala, is 
a region as large as New Jersey, forming one of the divisions of Mozam¬ 
bique. The town by that name was formerly the capital of a native 




A CIVILIZED TRIBE. 


7S 

kingdom, and when the Portuguese established their earliest settle¬ 
ments on the coast in the sixteenth century, it was a place of considera¬ 
ble trade. At one time large quantities of gold dust were sent from 
Sofala, which was the particular section of the world decided by some 
scholars to be the Ophir from which Solomon’s fleets returned laden with 
the precious metal. The town has now a fort, a church, a few mud and 
straw huts, and a beautiful sandbar at the mouth of the river, the exports 
from the country being mainly ivory, amber and beeswax. A few slaves 
are also included in the exports. The coast regions of Sofala are 
swampy and unhealthful, but the country stretches back toward the 
west until it merges into the Motapa Mountains. As in Northern 
Mozambique, the natives are governed by their own chiefs, and acknowl¬ 
edge the authority of the Portuguese only as it is to their commercial 
advantage so to do. But in Southern Africa there are more positive 
elements to be considered, and we find whole races subject to Euro¬ 
peans, and entire tribes in captivity to stronger tribes. We find also 
native warriors who have been taught to fight with modern weapons, 
and who have never been subdued, but merely confined to a. smaller ter¬ 
ritory, the immigrants having seized and held choice and sharply-defined 
districts themselves. 





THE LAND OF THE CAFFRES. 



THE ZULU CAFFRES. 

T IS not within our province to speak of quarrels between 
the British and Dutch for the country below the Orange 
river, or of the fierce conflicts which they have both waged 
with the Caffres and Bushmen and smaller native tribes; or 
of the savage warriors of Zululand, who are Caffres them¬ 
selves, but upon the bloody path a most implacable and dan¬ 
gerous breed. It is sufficient to remember that the Caffre is, 
virtually, a man without a country. When we consider that 
not many years ago Caffraria, or Caffreland, extended from 
Mozambique six hundred miles along the eastern coast 
and two or three hundred miles inland, and now that it is less 
than one-tenth of that area, although its tribes are found a thousand 
miles away — then it will be acknowledged that he is indeed “a man 
without a country.” Variously modified by climate, habits and mixture 
with native tribes, the Caffre appears in Central Africa, from the Orange 
river to the Nile, still warlike, a lover and often a worshiper of the cow, 
a tiller of the soil; a born commander among the lower type of negroes. 
The Caffre seems of the same order as the Abyssinian or the Galla; 
the governing race which founded a kingdom in the modern land of 
Mozambique; the basis of the Bechuanas, whose habits have been 
described as they exist in the Zambesi River country—in short, an 
Ethiopian whom circumstances have driven into the southern extremity 
of his native land. The complexion of the Southern Caffres is brown 
or copper colored, but as they approach the equator it becomes dark 
and at times a deep black. Their noses and foreheads are almost Euro¬ 
pean in type. The Caffre of Southern Africa is powerfully and sym¬ 
metrically built, the men standing from five feet ten to six feet three 
inches. Their speed is surprising, a blooded horse only being a match 
for them. In both male and female the hair is short and crisped, but 
not as woolly as that of the negro. Married men wear an apron com- 

79 
























8o 


THE ZULU CAFFRES 


posed of the tails of native animals, while if they have any standing in 
the community their heads must be shaved and tightly bound vvith rings 
of hard clay. If they are ministers of the chief, or chiefs, they wear 
three or four. When the boy has bloomed into manhood the official 
barber takes his head between his knees and scrapes off the hair with a 
piece of glass. It is not a pleasant operation, but must be undergone 
previous to being “ringed” into distinction. Another mark, not only 
of honor but of superlative refinement, is to carry a snuff-box in the ear. 



UTENSILS OF THE CAFFRES. 


A hole is made large enough to admit the box, and it is a very social 
sight to see a company of Caffres squat upon the ground, take out their 
boxes and horns, and energetically push the snuff into their noses with 
fancy wooden spoons. Their bodies are only partially covered with 
clothing, but they often present a beautiful appearance since they are 
rubbed with the grease of the castor oil plant, and, with their well- 
rounded and muscular limbs, seem transformed into artistic “studies in 
bronze.” This is particularly true of the Zulu warriors, or the Zulu 
youth in dancing costume; for when not in action they apparently real- 

























































































































8i 


DANCING AND COURTING. 


ize their physical beauties and pose 
painter s eye. 


in attitudes which would ravish 


a 


DANCING AND COURTING 


But once in the dance, neither youth nor warrior is long inactive. 
1 he participants come from the kraals of this cattle-raising people for 
miles around, especially if the dance is to be given by some great chief. 
The heads of the men and boys are decorated with ostrich feathers, and 
if they desire to appear particularly gay small birds are attached to their 
necks by cords or chains. Many of them also carry their assagais, or 
long spears, which they wave about or clang together to the evident 
terror of the chained songsters, but to the admiration of the plump and 
curd-fed girls, who clap their hands in admiration and encouragement. 
I heir dances sometimes continue for ten or twelve hours, beinof inaimu- 
rated by the slaughter of a bullock which is cut up and eaten while the 
ilesh still quivers with life. It is not uncommon for as many as two 
thousand Caffres to indulge in such festivities. The bird ornaments 
are retained by the boys of marriageable age, even when they are not 
on dress parade; they walk around as proud as peacocks, pulling the 
strings to which the birds are attached to make them flutter and attract 
the attention of susceptible maidens. Girls, however, whose personal 
charms are worth to their parents as many as ten or twenty cows, are 
kept closely watched and usually go abroad in pairs, with their arms 
around each other in true school-girl fashion. When the young man 
has fallen in love himself, as often comes to pass with those who start 
out to ensnare others, he goes to his barber for personal improvement. 
'Fhe operator holds the head of the youth between his knees, as was 
done some time ago when that same head was shaved and encircled 
with a ring of clay; the youth’s hair is long enough to be worked into 
a complicated mat with a porcupine quill. When the effect has been 
made sufficiently fierce the young man goes off to woo. If hardy and 
pleasing and rich in cattle he is almost sure to succeed, although an 
enumeration of the virtues of a Caffre makes no bad showing. 

But the courting days are over and the young man has somewhat 
modified his head-dress, the girl has been taken from her light house¬ 
hold duties, and her curds and whey, and is being brought toward the 
kraal of the future bridegroom. Accompanied by parents and friends 
she is seen to approach, and the young man sends to meet them a herd 
of twenty cows, driven by his servants; for he is rich and desirable. 
This is the gift to the father of the bride, who, stationed in the rear of 

his company, sedately receives the gift, his daughter squatting upon the 
6 


82 


MARRIED LIFE. 


oTound as the herd approach, and earnestly considering’ their propor¬ 
tions and numbers; as upon these things really depends the estimation 
in which she is held by her future husband. She is apparently satisfied, 
for she advances with some dignity to the entrance of the kraal, where 
she falls upon her knees to receive from the young man a necklace of 
beads which he places around her neck with his own gentle hands. A 
band of white beads, emblems of innocence, is also clasped around her 
waist. She is then led into his hut, where she remains alone until sun¬ 
down, to finally decide whether she will take him for better or for 
worse.” If she is still favorably inclined her lover leads her from the 
hut, in front of a body of his relatives and friends, who strike up some 
song of congratulation or welcome to the bride. Then follows the 
dance, which is substantially the same whether prompted by the fierce¬ 
ness of war or the sociability of domestic life. 

MARRIED LIFE. 

If the bride, whom we have been marrying, had been preceded by 
several sisters in matrimony, one of them would have welcomed her to 
the home of their future lord, and after the dance was concluded she 
would occupy the newly built hut (erected by her brothers) which was 
one of the circle surrounding the house of the husband. Should she be 
of a quarrelsome disposition she will be tied to a stake and receive a 
dozen lashes at the hands of his next brother. This humiliation she will 
undergo alone, for the husband has ordered his wives from the kraal 
and left himself. He unbinds her on his return, when she invariably 
falls upon her knees and promises to do better thereafter. If she persists 
in her fault she may be returned to her parents. Should she choose the 
better way she retires to her bee-hive hut, which has neither window nor 
chimney, and reflects. She closes the door, or hurdle, to keep out any 
poisonous snakes which may be about, and lies down upon a mat of grass 
with a log of wood for a pillow. When a man has many wives he elects 
one as his ‘‘great wife ”—she is apt to be his youngest and latest — and 
her eldest son is the heir. Then he selects his “ right-hand wife,” whose 
son inherits some of the property of the mother. If the husband be rich, 
he may provide for the other children, but it is not obligatory. If he 
dies without making a choice either of great wife or right-hand wife, his 
brother does it for him. Occasions may arise when the husband feels 
called upon to beat his wife himself. If he knocks out an eye or a tooth, 
or kills her, he is fined by his chief. The same regulation holds good 
between parents and children who live at home. It is somewhat surpris- 




married rife 


83 

ing that murder is regarded in the same light by the Caffre as by the 
3yssiman and by nearly all partially civilized people. They seem 
una ^ e to comprehend the difference between meditated and unpre- 
me it..tec murder, but fix the punishment upon a consideration purely 
o t le injury accomplished, the latter being decided by the rank of the 
family whose member is killed. Theft is punished in the same way. So 
tiat ff a chief is robbed, general confiscation follows, although should he 
ay lan s upon the finest cow in his dominion he cannot be prosecuted, 
is children are privileged to steal, also, and if any one is bold enough 



BUILDING THE BRIDE’S HUT. 


to whip a royal youngster for not keeping within bounds, he is liable to 
lose every cow in his kraal. Some years ago there was a tribe governed 
by a chief with so many thievish children that not a garden or a goat in 
the settlement was safe. A general appeal was made to the high 
chief, who decided that the privilege should in the future be confined to 
his own immediate family. There is no fine for trespass since the Caffre 
is a land communist ; but if he drives cattle from the tract in his im¬ 
mediate vicinity which he has been allowed to improve, and injures them- 
in the driving, he is fined. Any man may occupy unimproved land, and 

































































GOOD TRAITS. 


84 

no one but the chief can disturb him ; but should he leave his land, and 
another occupy it, he can recover it if he desires. 

Returning to the undesirable wife. There is no system of divorce, 
but if a man repudiates his wife and can show that he does so on good 
grounds, he gets back his cattle from her father. Should a man die 
without children by a wife, the cattle given for her may be recovered by 
his heirs. Should only one child have been born and the woman be still 
young, a part of the cattle can be recovered. In a word, it will be inferred 
from this dissertation on cattle and wives, that a wife can be bought, 
but never sold by her husband. She may pass along to the next brother 
as so much property, but is never sold except by her parents before 
she is married. 

GOOD TRAITS. 

Now, what are some of the good qualities of the Caffre? He is 
inclined to be honest. He is cleanly, and punishes his pickaninnies if 
they do not go into the water four times a day instead of whipping them 
if they do. He is hospitable and peaceable if he does not think himself 
imposed upon. His people live to a great age, and old age is respected. 
Old men and women are generally accompanied by two boys who lead 
them about, give them their daily baths and supply their other wants. 
He is cheerful and takes “hard rubs” as they come. The loss of a cow 
crushes him for a day; but he is sunshine the next — he never broods. 
He will nurse you with the faithfulness of a mother, but, if you wince 
under his treatment, his sympathy and his wonderful powers of mimicry 
get the better of him and he puts himself in your place at once — 
expression, posture and everything. He is a good neighbor, and will 
sit around the sick man’s hut for hours comforting him every way in his 
power; or he will start up and without a word start on a journey of a 
hundred miles or more. He may do that or send a special messenger 
who, for a shilling, will go half that distance on a run, holding the doc¬ 
tor’s letter in the slit end of a stick, well over his head. Unless he stops 
along the road to take a spoon of snuff, nothing short of wild beasts or 
death can slacken his pace until he has delivered his message. 

The physician is an awful personage, for although as naked as 
the average Caffre, he has suspended from the back of his neck a small 
skull; and claws of eagles, and feet of lions are hung about his person to 
act as charms. Upon the point of his assagai is fastened a small bunch 
of herbs. He also sings away disease. If the doctor is not sent for 
and the patient dies, the relatives of the deceased are fined by the chief. 
When death has occurred the family become unclean and unable to mi?c 




nOOl) TRAITS. 


^5 

In society fora certain period. It was a former custom to cast away the 
dead body to be devoured by wild beasts, unless the deceased happened 
to be a chief, when he was given a decent burial; but now rich and 
poor are placed under the ground, a hole being dug near the hut. With 
the body of the chiefs are buried his arms and ornaments. If he was an 
“Umkumkami, ” (head chief) watchers attended by a number of cattle 
are posted by his grave for at least a year. Watchers and cattle thereby 
become sacred; the watchers have certain privileges accorded them and 
the cattle can never be slaughtered; nor can their progeny, until the 
sacred kine have breathed their last. The sub-chiefs, in the mean¬ 
time, have shaved their heads, abstained resolutely from milk, and per¬ 
formed other feats indicative of their profound grief. Furthermore the 
grave of the dead chieftain is considered a sanctuary for every villain in 
the land. Be his crime ever so heinous, let him once be able to cast 
himself upon it, and he is safe from all pursuers. 

The kindness which the Caffre shows toward his friend when he is 
sick or in distress is, however, a more effective medicine than all the 
charms of the physician. A European who lived for many months among 
them, and thoroughly learned their language and their ways, tells the 
following, as illustrating this trait of sympathy and its concomitant, 
helpfulness : “A poor fellow had lost all his cows with lung sickness, and 
three of his wives died at the same time, I believe, from eating the 
diseased meat of the animals. Unluckily he had not planted many 
mealies, so that he was in a true state of bankruptcy. But in this wild 
and happy condition there being no assignees, a meeting of the heads of 
the kraals was called, and after talking the matter over for some time, 
they all became silent and thoughtful, evidently considering what had bet¬ 
ter be done. Suddenly a man sprang up and claimed, ‘I feel so m*any cows 
and calves for you.’ Then another got up and said how many he felt; a 
third had a like sensation, and then a fourth, and so on through the 
august assembly, until the man was again possessed of a very respectable 
herd of cattle.” 

Notwithstanding all these good qualities, the Caffre, in a matter of 
business, will cheat like a professional sharper. When one is in his 
house as a guest he can not treat him with enough kindness and hospi- 
tsdity ,—but with the Caffre, as with his civilized and unfortunate brother, 
“business is business;” and that is all there is to it. There never was a 
man who was so tender and yet so cruel. This is particularly shown in 
his hunting customs. Even when he can, he seldom kills an animal 
outright, but seems to delight in torture and a slow death. For instance, 
the hippopotamus is in the habit of getting into gardens and causing 


86 


SUPERSTITIONS. 


much damage. It is one of the Caffres’ modes of revenge to lasso their 
enemy and when securely fastened to thrust the bough of a tree into his 
mouth. Thus propped open the mighty cavern furnishes a fair mark for 
their assagais, with their curved iron blades. They kill the beast by 
slow degrees, but before the tortured brute is really cold they cut him 
up and feast ravenously upon his warm flesh. Whether hunting the 
wild pig which they consider (with fish) unclean ; or the powerful buffalo 
who disdains the lion himself, or the hideous hyena, or the king of 
beasts whose blood they lap up in the belief that they will inherit his 
boldness, the Caffre is always accompanied by his dog, who is of a swift, 
fierce and stubborn breed. 

SUPERSTITIONS. 

The superstitions rife in Caffraria, or rather among the Southern 
Caffres, are many but quite harmless. A snake represents the devil 
and, strange to say, (in a country where snakes are almost as plentiful as 
jungle grass) a snake was seen to enter the hut of a person who died a 
year thereafter! Or a fowl passed in front of the hut. No Caffre 
therefore, on pain of death, will allow a harmless hen to be driven in 
front of his hut; she must go round by the back way! Not one could be 
induced to eat a hen’s egg, or sell it for less than fourpence ; if he did, he 
would surely meet with some crushing misfortune. A coolie is an abom¬ 
ination to a Caffre. Some evil influence is thought to reside in his very 
breath; so that if a Caffre meets one on the road he not only will pass 
him on the other side, but will throw over his mouth whatever skin or 
covering he may have upon his person. The true native whose natural 
superstition has not been weakened by an accidental contact with rational 
ideas, is firmly convinced that death never comes except by accident or 
through the instrumentality of witches now and then. The Caffres 
pitch upon one of their number as a wizard, or “ King of Snakes,” and 
flee from him as from a pestilence. If they are obliged to approach him 
they fear to look him in the eye, lest they or their cattle should be 
stricken. This same evil-eyed gentleman often wills it that his trembling 
victim should kill a fat cow and make over to him her very best parts. 
After a time, however, if it is found that he is one of a family of wizards 
who are engaged in their wicked practices, a concerted assault is made 
upon them and all are destroyed. Opposed to the wizard is the 
“ prophet” of the kraal, who, when the witch’s time has come, is placed 
in the center of the company and immediately commences to “smell” 
for the evil one. The wizard is smelt out, denounced, seized and sub- 


SUPERSTITIONS. 


jectecl to some horrible form of torture which the Caffre knows so well 
how to inflict. The family and friends of the wizard (for he sometimes 
has both) must assist in the hideous work or be suspected themselves 
and perhaps subjected to the same tortures. It often happens that this pro¬ 
cess of “smelling out” the wizard covers the deepest of evil designs. A 
chief may wish to rid himself of a political enemy, or a prominent mem¬ 
ber of his tribe has a neighbor who has cast covetous eyes upon his cat¬ 
tle. In either case the priest or prophet is called in, and after many 
contortions on his part, and much smelling around the circle, and great 
howling and beating of drums by the conspirators, the unfortunate one 
is named. If he persists that he is innocent he may be tortured to death 
as a stubborn sort of a “ royal snake.” Admitting that he is “possessed ” 
in some way, his cattle are appropriated by the chief and he is beaten 
and purified of the Evil One. If he is merely considered to be a torment¬ 
ing wizard he usually escapes with his life ; if he is the enemy of one in 
power he is apt to die of his injuries. 

The rain-maker is also a great personage among the Caffres of South¬ 
ern Africa. In obedience to the summons of a chief he arrives and at once 
gives orders for the slaughtering of an ox, whose bones are burned. If 
rain does not come after about the third day, the “ maker” commences 
to look wise and serious, and the chief very fierce. After deep reflec¬ 
tion the rain-maker discovers that the beast was manifestly of an unac¬ 
ceptable color and a second one is sacrificed. Another anxious waiting 
of two or three days, with the pasture lands burning up and the patient 
cattle standing about disconsolately, and the tribe commences to get in¬ 
credulous, but being told that some “witchcraft” is the matter with 
the second ox, they straightway proceed to smell it out. Should the 
drought still continue, the chief is more likely than not to order the 
impostor drowned. 

Kaffir or Caffre is an Arabic word signifying “ unbeliever” and was 
applied to these people by the Mohammedans. Although among the 
tribe of Griquas, Christianity has made some progress, they have, as a 
whole, no prescribed forms of religion. They have, however, a general 
belief in a Supreme Being. Their government consists of a national 
council which is composed of a head chief (“The Umkumkani,”) 
subordinate chiefs, and petty chiefs who merely have jurisdiction over a 
kraal or hamlet. Their laws are unwritten but are undoubtedly stowed 
away in the heads of the chief men of the kraal, who, when a case is 
brought before them, sit solemnly in a circle and place the culprit in the 
center. The defendant pleads his own case, uninterrupted, and may 
either clear himself, be sentenced to death or be mulcted heavily in a fine 
of cows. 


88 


ZULU warfare 



Of the unwritten laws which hold fast among the Caffres is one 
which is unique even in the annals of polygamy. In the division of a 
man’s property after death the wives of the deceased go to his next 
brother, which may explain the custom of allowing said next brother to 
discipline an unruly wife during the lifetime of her husband. It will 

thus be seen that the 
death of a brother may be 
the fortune of the next in 
succession, for every wife 
who falls to him represents 
so many cows even up to 
the number of one hun¬ 
dred ! 


But where the Zulu 
or the Zulu Caffre, as he 
is often called, goes upon 
the war-path he leaves far 
behind all ideas of human¬ 
ity, and blood and re¬ 
venge are straight before 
him. Painting his body 
with a fiery red clay and 
arming himself with his 
terrible assagai and shield 
of ox hide, he issues forth 
to carry terror into the 
camps of native tribes ; or 
with a rifle, which he may 
have learned to use as 
skillfully as a veteran 
sharp-shooter, arouse the 
A NATIVE WARRIOR. admiration of the Dutch 

Boer and the British 
soldier. Even in their former conflicts with Piuropean troops, before 
they had the advantage of fire-arms, they seldom showed that conster¬ 
nation which usually seizes upon the savage when he firsts faces powder, 
shot and shell, with their roar and mysterious force. On the contrary, 
although the reckless warriors could perceive the havoc they created, as 
the cannon ball rebounded from the rocks behind which they were 


ZULU WARFARE. 




















































































































/IILU WARFARK. 


89 

conducting a stubborn defense they chased them over the field and 
captured them, if whole, with the intention of using them to grind their 
grain. If, on the other hand, the shells exploded, they would pick up 
the pieces and with shouts of derision, pretend to throw them in the 
faces of their foes. When the fire actually became so hot as to threaten 



NOTABLE CHIEF AND WARRIOR. 


annihilation, however, the wonderful speed of the Caffre was brought 
out to perfection. Night attacks the Caffre is not proof against. Dur¬ 
ing the heat of the day he is as lithe and venomous as a snake, but 
when night comes he loses much of his energy, and all his superstitions 
are alive in the darkness. His two pieces of stick joined together with 
a strip of leather and blessed by a witch doctor seem then to avail him 
little and under cover of the darkness many of his stanchest warriors 






































90 


ZULU WARFARE. 


have been cut to pieces and his brave chiefs brought into subjection. 
When his spirit is once broken his virtues seem to fade away. 
When he realizes that he is defeated he will abandon wife, children and 
home. Should his wife be driven from her hut she will leave her baby 
to die by the roadside upon the first opportunity. A Caffre child will 
ask you to give him the beads first, before he conducts you to the hut in 
which you are going to shoot his own father. 

The incessant warfare which has been waged against the Zulu Caffres 
has had the effect of driving their most independent tribes far north. 
Those who remain have retired across the St. John’s river into the dis¬ 
trict called Kaffraria Proper, or have been settled by the British govern¬ 
ment along the frontiers of the Cape Colony. 

The Fingoes are a money-making people, made up of various Zulu 
tribes, who occupy the frontier of the Cape Colony. They were for a 
time held as slaves by their more warlike neighbors, but rescued by the 
British, to whom they are closely attached. They are a saving, 
careful race, and much better financiers than the Caffres of the Natal 
region, who are in the habit of burying the money they receive from 
Europeans. The result is that sometimes until they can be induced to 
disgorge, the shops of the colony are obliged to close because there is 
no medium of exchange. The Fingoes, on the contrary, are so success¬ 
ful as financiers that they are called the Jews of the Caffre race. 







THE SOUTHERN BECHUANAS. 


HE country proper of this great tribe includes the central 
and northern portions of Southern Africa—in fact, all the ter¬ 
ritory not occupied by the Caffres, Hottentots and European 
colonists. Branches of the nation also spread over Central 
Africa. They treat as slaves the tribes even of their own 
nation who have not been able to stand against superior 
prowess or have not paid tribute to a powerful native chief. 
These native vassals are known as Bakalahari, and when they 
show an intelligence or bravery above that of slavery they are 
called to enjoy the privileges of citizenship with the members 
of the ruling tribe. The Bakalahari are well treated by their masters, 
who put them to the task of tending their flocks and herds, seeming to 
remember that their slaves are the same as they, only weaker brothers 
or children. When the owner of the stock makes his appearance at the 
post, he speaks of the cattle as if they belonged to the Bakalahari ; and 
when it is his intention to slaughter one, even asks permission of his 
well-pleased slave. When he goes hunting the master retains the ivory 
and ostrich feathers, the furs and skins, giving the meat to his vassal. 
When he visits the little settlement it is usually with a present of 
some tobacco or wild hemp for smoking, or a clasp-knife or a few beads, 
staying with them to hunt, or to oversee their work in a friendly 
way. It is sometimes with the greatest difficulty that the master can be 
induced to leave his slaves and cattle in order to please his chief and 
assist him in carrying on his wars. 

But although the Bechuanas are no cravens in war, they are diplo¬ 
matic by nature, and their chiefs indulge in many pretty little forms in 
treating with each other, or one of another tribe. Each chief has usually 
three or four confidential officials, or special ambassadors, to whom he 
entrusts all his most delicate missions. Before starting on any journey 
the party is assembled to hear the message of their chief. The head 
ambassador, or Minister Plenipotentiary, then repeats it. Should he 

hesitate one of his assistants prompts him, if possible. They now start 

91 





























92 


THE S()UTIIERx\ B EC H'J AN AS. 



on a journey of a week or more, going over the message once or twice 
at their evening fire, and especially reviving it in their minds the night 
before their arrival at their destination. Upon being received by the 
chief, the leader of the ambassadors commences to recite his story, and 
when he comes to important parts of it, he pauses and turning to his 
attendants demands : “ Am I lying? Does not our chief say so?” 

“You speak the true 
words of our master” 
is the reply of his 
c o m p a n i o n s, who 
thereby become his 
witnesses, and also as¬ 
sist him to carry back 
the true reply of the 
chief whom they are 
interviewing or peti¬ 
tioning The largest 

o o 

of the B e c h u a n a 
towns is Shoshonor • 
and, indeed it is one 
of the largest towns 
in Southern Africa, 
being midway be¬ 
tween the Kalahari 
Desert and the Trans- 
vaal Republic. There 
is a courtyard in the 
town, fronting which 
is a semi-circular row 
of houses occupied 
by the twelve wives 
of the chief. T h e 
headmen have from 
three to six wives, 
according to their social standing, while the common freemen of the 
town have seldom two. When the chief takes a wife home he agrees 
to furnish her a certain number of servants and cattle. In return she 
raises, every year, a certain quantity of corn for him. 


AGRICULTURE UNDER DIFFICULTIES. 


When the chief dies wailings and lamentations resound in every hut 
of the town, and especially those which front the court-yard. 

“ Oh where shall we find him? who shall now provide for us? Who 















































THE BUSHMEN. 93 

will take his place in the council, or the chase, or the field of battle? 
Where shall we find him?” And then follows the wild chorus expressive 
of great anguish—“Yo-yo-yo!”—the mourners falling on their faces, 
tearing their hair and beating their breasts. The most sincere of these 
mourners are often the Bakalahari who have had occasion to kindly 
remember some pitying attention not only from his head men but from 
the chief himself 

THE BUSHMEN. 

But there is one class of slaves who have no occasion to mourn with 



A GROUP OF BUSHMEN. 


those who mourn; for the Bechuanas, from poor townsmen to rich 
headsmen and chief, have never shown any affection for the degraded 




















































































































94 


THE BUSHMEN. 


Bushmen. “ Bushmen are great rascals,” or “ Bushmen are perfect 
snakes,” are remarks which are commonly made by the governing class. 
If a man becomes whatever you call him, the abuse which is continually 
heaped upon this disgraceful species even of the Hottentot has made 
him what he is—so grovelling and mean, that his whole race is threat¬ 
ened with extinction. When they are not the slaves of other tribes, or 
are too uncivilized to act as guides, they are found living on both banks 
of the Orange river or in mountainous regions, subsisting upon roots, 



CAVES OF THE BUSHMEN. 

raw flesh, the larvae of ants and locusts, mice, vermin and snakes. They 
have then no fixed residence and build no dwellings, being simp'.y aim¬ 
less, miserable roamers. They usually wear a sheepskin for clothing, 
and arm themselves with knives, small bows and poisoned arrows. With 
their broad foreheads, high cheek-bones, oblique eyes and dirty olive- 
colored complexion they resemble the Hottentots. But they are smaller 
and have a crafty look, unlike the stolid expression of the Hottentots. 
Both languages have the same guttural, clicking sound, but neither can 
understand the other. Wherever the Bushman is, he seems to be a 
creature of circumstances—a slave to nature or to man. He shows at 












THE BUSHMEN. 


95 


his best as a guide, who has been trusted by his fellows to some extent. 
He knows every tree and herb in the country, and what to use them 
for, and if you are sick and cannot obtain the most improved medicines, 
trust him to bring you out of your distress. 

Nothi ng can exceed his skill as a hunter and an observer of the 
habits of wild animals ; he seems to understand the twitter of every bird 
or every rustle made by an approaching beast. In common with the 
Hottentot, he is noted more for his endurance than for great bodily 
strength, and the dogged way in which he lives for years through the 
really cold winter seasons of South Africa with only a small skin mantle to 
throw around his shoulders, is only another proof of how the most miser¬ 
able will stubbornly cling to the most miserable kind of life. Imagine a 
company of them lying around a log fire, asleep in the mountainous 
regions of the Orange River country ; or they may be sitting upright 
nodding over its welcome flames, with their skins drawn around their 
necks. Suddenly, as if by arrangement, they stretch, yawn and grunt 
in concert, and walk sleepily to a pile of logs near by from which they 
replenish the fire. When the savages are fairly on their feet, you see 
that their bodies are scorched and scarred, caused by literally baking 
themselves at night to keep up their vital heat. They have had their 
backs to the flames, the first part of the night, and after they have 
thrown on fresh logs they methodically resume their places, but with 
their faces to the fire. By the time that side of their bodies is fairly 
“ done,” light commences to break, and they bestir themselves to look 
for breakfast. Their restless, hungry eyes scan heaven and earth. Sud¬ 
denly one of their number starts to his feet and seizes his spear. He 
points off in the distance and grunts out a few discordant words to his 
comrades, and they all start in the direction indicated. After they have 
gone perhaps a quarter of a mile you would be able to discern the cause 
of this commotion in the shape of two or three huge vultures sweeping 
over a certain spot. Arriving at their destination they find a large lion 
busy over the body of an antelope or zebra, with hyenas, younger lions 
and birds of prey waiting at a distance, and biding their time. This the 
Bushmen do not mean to do ; so they commence to shout at the top of 
their voices, rattle their spears, shake their mantles, break off the 
branches of trees, and make such a commotion generally, that after lift¬ 
ing his bloody jaws for a moment, the king of beasts makes off with his 
associates, under the impression that the whole forest is about to sweep 
down upon him. Everything which is left is now borne away to the 
encampment, even if they find only bits of bone and hide and hoof. 


96 


THE BUSHMEN, 


There is marrow in the bones, and gluten in the hoof and hide ; and this 

is better food than a Bushman gets every day. 

The next best “treat” to getting a repast of flesh or rich bones is 
to meet a Boer and be able to kill him. The Hottentot and the Boer 
are quite likely to stand in the relation of servant and master, but the 
Bushman has never forgotten that the Dutch first took possession of his 



A CIVILIZED BUSHMAN. 


country of Cape Colony and drove him away ; and although he may 
become the slave of a Bechuana he has sworn an interminable war 
against the Boen His hatred is returned in kind, and to show to a 
lymphatic Boer his aboriginal enemy is like shaking a red rag at a 
usually peaceable cow. With actual haste he lays aside his pipe of 
tobacco and leaves, undrains his glass of brandy, while his buxom wife 
lets her cup of coffee get cold, and his daughters open their mild eyes 

























































































THE BUSHMEN. 


97 


with interest; for he is about to take clown his gun and show that he has 
not forgotten how to use it. He is passionately fond of his mutton, 
soaked in the fat of his long-tailed sheep, but the death of a Bushman 
goes before everything else. He will even break into his rules of hos¬ 
pitality and leave the stranger, who has shaken hands with him and kissed 
his motherly wife to amuse himself as best he can, while he and his 
grown up sons go “ a-gunning ” for the Bushman. 

Now let us narrate the story of the Bushman’s life as a slave to the 
Caffres, or the Bechuanas, though he is much better off with them than 
when he shifts for himself in the desert and the mountains. He is the 
hunter of South Africa, even as a slave. He knows the meaning of 
every sound in the air, every turned leaf or disturbed twig, and yet is 
always consulting his charms. When his master comes to hunt with him, 
he first goes through his hut, and the bee-hives ” in which his brother- 
slaves swarm with their families. He has no kind words for them, but 
is only looking to see that they have secreted no skins. If he has ven¬ 
tured to make a mantle for himself or wife, without consulting his 
master, he is sadly taken to task — perhaps flogged. In former years 
some of the tribes even authorized a master to kill his Bushman slave 
for withholding the proceeds of the chase, obtained during his absence, 
and selling them to European hunters or natives. But such severity 
only seemed to rouse the Bushmen to greater deceitfulness, and the 
Bechuana chiefs finally were obliged to enter the field as common com¬ 
petitors in trade. So that the slaves now get a more generous allowance 
of skins in cold weather, and, occasionally some tobacco, while their 
wives and children are presented with beads and trinkets. In return, 
the Bushmen are expected to turn over all the skins, ivory and ostrich 
feathers which they obtain in the chase. But European enterprise, even 
with this growing leniency, is the cause of much trouble; for the variety 
and attractiveness of the goods, which it sends into the country for pur¬ 
poses of barter with the natives, snatch away from the Bechuanas many 
articles of value on which they formerly had a monopoly. They, 
therefore, throw every impediment in the way of traders, to make their 
passage through the country as slow as possible, and give them time to 
gather up the spoils in advance. 

When the master decides to go upon a hunting excursion with his 
Bushmen, he enters into the sport with all the zest of his slaves. The 
Bushman, in addition to his native spear, bow and arrow, is often en¬ 
trusted with a gun, which he has learned to handle with remarkable pre¬ 
cision; for with all his hardships his eye is true and his nerves are steady. 

They then sally forth with their dogs, the master decked out with feath- 
7 




THE SLAVES’ HIDING PLACE- 







































































































































































































































































































































































































































EUKOl’EAN 


BECIIUANAN CIVILIZATION. 


99 


ers and beads ; the Bushmen wearing plain skins, and around their necks 
or in their bushy hair bits of wood or bone, to be used as medicines or 
charms in case of sickness or danger. Besides marks on their faces, some 
of them have the cartilage of their nose pierced, a survival of 
a tribal custom not yet dropped in their present condition of bondage. 
The leader of the party, who is invariably a Bushman, having con¬ 
sulted the bits of bone or ivory which are strung around his neck, 
announces confidently the direction in which their game will be found, 
and they go briskly forward, with their dogs ahead. If you ask him 
about his ivory charms, he will call them “ things of my god,” and will 
add, “ they tell me news.” He does not attempt to explain, but evidently 
believes in some power outside of himself. 

In times of peace it is evident that these vassals of the Bechuanas 
are far more comfortable than if left to themselves ; for they seem to have 
no idea of combining into kraals and settlements for protection or con¬ 
venience, although they are thus grouped by their masters. It is the 
custom that a slave can appeal to the chief of a tribe if he considers him¬ 
self ill-used by his master; but the certainty of obtaining justice depends 
upon the fact of whether said master is a friend or a foe to said chief. 
Every Bechuana cannot have his Bushman. Slaves are the property of 
the headmen of the tribe. These great men often get to quarreling 
among themselves, and the anxiety of the slaves may be imagined when 
it is known that if the quarrel comes to bloodshed, they may be driven 
hither and thither, and even butchered as so many cattle who are of 
value to a hated rival. In times of civil strife the Bakalahari, or native 
slaves, are liable to suffer the same atrocities. When one Bechuana 
tribe attacks another the Bushmen and Bakalahari are placed in the 
same category with cattle and sheep — they are to be “ lifted,” or killed 
as opportunity offers. During such troublous times, therefore, the slaves 
flee into the desert, the forest or the mountains, and hide themselves 
until the commotion is past. 

EUROPEAN —BECHUANAN CIVILIZATION. 

Hedged around by the territory of the Orange Free State is a com¬ 
munity or tribe of Bechuanas, whose position is unique in the history of 
African progress. They possess a territory about thirty-five miles 
square which supports 15,000 natives. They live under their own laws 
and are governed by their own chief, and as they have been allies of the 
Dutch in times past, they live quietly and unmolested, growing maize 
and corn and tending their cattle and sheep like other Caffres. The 



lOO 


SOUTH AFRICAN ABORIGINES. 



land is h^'A by the chief, who apportions it as he pleases, but withdraws 
wnac has been given only for serious cause. A European has now and 
then ventured into the fertile territory and received a share of the land 
from the chief, whose sole aim seems to be to advance the prosperity of 
his people. The principal town of the nation, which contains about 
6,000 people, is laid out in regular streets, and within the same province 
are smaller villages with their shops and a general appearance of life and 
hope. What few Europeans are living in the place have their houses 
low on the plain, while the huts of the natives are constructed on a hill. 
The king resides in a spacious hut and has his chairs, bed and settles, 
and dresses and walks like a European. He has his watch and chain, a 

round flat-topped hat and cord 
trousers, is quiet and courteous 
and “ progressive ” in the best 
sense of the word. A court-yard 
runs around the huts occupied by 
the royal family and his min¬ 
isters, which is inclosed by a cir¬ 
cular fence of bamboo canes, 
stuck into the ground perpen¬ 
dicularly and bound together. 
The way into the court-yard is 
open, but the circle is brought 
around so as to overlap the en¬ 
trance and prevent the passer-by 

from looking in. The king ad- 
A EUROPEANIZED CAFFRE. ministers justice sitting outside 

in his court with his counselors around him; and their word is law. 
Their laws are somewhat similar to those of the Caffres. Death 
is the penalty for rebellion against the government.' All other crimes 
are punishable by fines of cows, heavy or light according to their mag¬ 
nitude. 


SOUTH AFRICAN ABORIGINES. 


The Hottentots, which include the Bushmen, are supposed to be 
the descendants of the tribes which first settled in Southeastern Africa, and 
with the influx of the more energetic Caffres were driven into the south¬ 
ern portion of the continent. They now dwell for the most part in and 
about the Cape of Good Hope. In moral and intellectual caliber they 
have been found far superior to the Bushman and fully on a par with the 
Caffre. They are courageous, when occasion warrants, but are by nature 







SOUTH AFRICAN ABORIGINES. 


lOI 



mild and tractable, being generally employed by the Dutch Boers as 
herdsmen and laborers. Their eyes and complexion, and the shape of 
the head and face, as well as the structure of the hair have been the 
means of separating them from the other African races, notwithstanding 
they are small in numbers and decreasing. Ethnologists have even gone 
so far as to place them among the Mongolians, and they do bear a strik¬ 
ing resemblance to the Northern Asiatics and the Esquimaux. When 
the Dutch first commenced to colonize around the cape they found the 
Hottentots occupying all the country now included in the Cape Colony; 
they were living under rather democratic forms of government, although 
governed by chiefs, and marched proudly to battle to the sound of the 
pipe and the llageolet. 

Now they have lost all 
national ambition and 
have allowed t h e m- 
selves to be scattered 
and absorbed by the 
superior races. Their 
downfall was principally 
occasioned by their in¬ 
ordinate love for rum, 
for which they would 
eagerly part with their 
flocks and herds. Then 
they became slaves to 
the Dutch — those who 
were not driven into the 
desert and waste places, 
like the Bushmen. The 
purest remnants of the 
native tribes are found ^ namaqua. 

in Namaqua land, a sandy, mountainous tract of country, in the north¬ 
western part of the Cape Colony. 

North of this is Damara land, in which a few miserable aborieines 
drag out a savage existence among its hills and gorges and sandy plains. 
This is a narrow belt of drought-stricken land which they also share with 
the Damaras, a warlike tribe of the Bechuanas who formerly extended 
their depredations as far as N garni lake and the Zambesi river. These 
dreary regions of fire, rocks and famine have only one attraction for civ¬ 
ilized people; they are known to be rich in copper—some travelers 
assert with confidence that when developed they will be among the most 










SCENE IN SOUTHWESTERN AFRICA. 




















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































TRIBES OF SOUTHWESTERN AFRICA. 


103 


productive of any in the world. The Griquas, who live along- the Orange 
river further to the east, are half-breeds, a mongrel tribe of Hottentots 
and Boers. 1 he partially civilized Hottentots as they are found around 
the Cape of Good Hope and scattered all over the colony are docile and 
willing to be taught, and it is asserted that no uncultivated people have 
received the instructions of the Moravian missionaries more readily than 
they. They own both oxen and sheep and, with the Bushmen, are 
addicted to the chase. Their only manufacture is a kind of earthen¬ 
ware. Their taste for music is satisfied with a rude, three-stringed guitar 
and a bark flute. Closer contact with Europeans has dispelled many of 
the superstitions which still thrive in the darkness of the Bushman’s 
mind or in that of the wild Hottentot. On the other hand the “Cape” 
Hottentot has imbibed several which he would not have done had he 
never brushed up against the life of the nineteenth century. If there is 
one thing more than another which makes him shiver it is to have his 
photograph taken, for he honestly thinks that the process in some way 
draws his vitality from him and will shorten his life. 

The young Hottentot is remarkably symmetrical. The girls in par¬ 
ticular are models of proportion, with delicate hands and feet. But an 
attractive face among either sex is almost unknown, and as the boys and 
girls become men and women every part of the body seems determined 
to outdo the other in ugliness. And their language is in keeping, being 
compared to the discordant clucking of a hen after she has laid an egg. 
It has been suggested that hereon hinges the origin of the word 
Hottentot; that it was given to these people to convey an idea of the 
peculiar clicking or clucking of their words—Hot-en-tot or Hot-and-tot. 
They call themselves Ouai-quae, Gkhui-gkhui. When discovered by the 
Dutch nearly 300 years ago they were known according to their dialects 
as Koi-koin, Tkuhgrub, Ouenan and Ouaquas. It seems impossible to 
find an explanation of the name in their own language. In years to 
come some light upon the mystery may be thrown from an obelisk 
unearthed from Egyptian sand; for philologists have found some things 
in common between the two tongues, and it may be that the Hottentot 
is only a degraded Pharaoh after all. Who can tell ? 

TRIBES OE SOUTHWESTERN AERICA. 

The Griquas are a tribe who much resemble the Hottentots. Their 
country which lies along the Orange river is fertile and yet affords fine 
pasturage ; so that they are both agriculturists and raise large flocks of 
sheep and goats. As has been observed, many of them have embraced 



104 


TRIBES OF SOUTHWESTERN AFRICA 


the Christian faith. They are so enthusiastic in their devotion that 
they attend church upon every possible occasion. Some cynic has made 
the suggestion that they do so, principally with the idea of showing off 
their fine clothes. However this may be, they appear in a variety of 
costumes. Some of the gentlemen wear roundabouts, frock coats or 



DAMARA WARRIOR AND MAIDEN. 


regimentals obtained from British merchants or peddlers. They may 
have vests and pantaloons, or they may be minus the accompanying gar¬ 
ments. Again they may don cotton shirts or turbans, and rest satisfied. 
'Fhe women appear in the most grotesque head-dresses, bodices which 
fit close to the waist and colored petticoats which reach to the ankles. 
As a rule they have been firm allies of Great Britain and have assisted 










TRIBES OF SOUTHWESTERN AFRICA. 


105 


them in their warfare with the Boers. They seem particularly attached 
to the Mother Country — for what they can “get out of her;” and the 
appearance of an Englishman on the banks of the Orange river is the 
signal for a concerted attack upon him in the shape of petitions for the 
very clothes upon his back, and especially his shirt. The Griquas are 
not warriors, however, by disposition, and if possible keep at a safe dis¬ 
tance from the energetic Dutch fighters. As a rule the parties are 
separated sufficiently so that the herds of antelopes or zebras grazing on 
the broad plain between them receive the brunt of the conflict. The 
Griquas are principally noted for possessing (under the control of Great 
Britain) the finest diamond fields of Africa, that is, they work in them 
and are paid wages. 

Unless it be quarreling with the Damaras, or fighting among them¬ 
selves, the chief occupation of the Namaquas appears to be hunting the 
ostrich. T hey usually go after their prey when the sun is at its hottest, 
and the plan pursued is to first tire out the fleet birds by a skillful com¬ 
bination of their hunting party. The chase is generally conducted on 
horseback. A troop of ostriches having been espied, a number of 
hunters encircle them at a great distance, and then cautiously draw 
toward them, merely showing themselves sufficiently or making enough 
noise to start them in motion. As the circle erows smaller and the 
Namaquas see that they have their quarry secure, they shout loudly and 
urge their horses upon them, keeping them moving from one hunter to 
another, until finally the ostriches commence to wave their wings heavier 
and heavier, and perhaps come to a stand-still, falling to the ground 
completely exhausted. At all events, few of them escape. Another 
mode is to drive them over a plain and toward a narrow defile where a 
party is stationed, there being also relays along the way who take up 
the chase when the horses of one division have become exhausted. By 
this latter method the number of birds captured is often so large that 
the hunters have more food than they can eat and allow some of the 
ostriches to escape, after they have plucked their wing and tail feathers. 
If the Hottentots discover a collection of nests containinor the ostriches’ 
huge eggs, those who make the discovery quickly divest themselves of 
their nether garments, should they be so fortunate as to be wearing 
them, and tying up the lower ends, pack the trophies securely within, 
throwinof the load over their shoulders or across their horses’ back. 

Beyond the Damaras, are the Ovampos or Otjiherero. They are 
eiven rather a “ ofood character,” seeming to be a connecting link 
between the best qualities of the Zulu Caffre and those of the Congo 
Caffre to the north, although the stout, athletic, warlike and dirty 



I06 TRIBES OF SOUTHWESTERN AFRICA. 

Damaras come in between them. The Ovampos are tall and well- 
formed, and although generally intelligent, and willing to come an con¬ 
tact with Europeans, their thirty years’ intercourse has not disabused 
them of the idea that they look best with the least possible amount of 
clothing. They buy guns and ammunition, but no cloth. The native 
arms are the bow and arrow, a dagger-shaped knife, and a short club 
with a knob on the end. With this latter weapon they can kill a bird 
on the wing, or a man on horseback. The men have few ornaments, 



WOODEN UTENSILS OF THE OVAMPOS. 

^ Bowl. 2 Kettle. 3—Shovel. 4—Pipe-bowl. 5 and 6—Double Cup for Pouring Beer. 

but the women are loaded down with various colored beads and shells 
of ostrich eggs. The heavy rings around the ankles, which many tribes 
still consider fashionable, have been discarded by the Ovampo women, 
and are now fastened to the limbs of servants and slaves Avho are sus¬ 
pected of wanting to run away. Another practice also has been 
discarded by the Ovampos — the men do not allow the women to do all 
the field work. When not engaged in cultivating the soil or tending 
their cattle, they often make journeys of several hundred miles to 
exchange the iron and copper rings, the hoes and the spear-heads which 
they make themselves, for the crude ore, and for articles of food which 











































































































SCATTERED CENTRAL AFRICAN TRIBES. IO 7 

they do not raise. Both men and women are light-hearted, ana delight 
in music and dancing. When the labors of the day are over, they 
gather out-of-doors and go through with many queer movements to the 
sound of the tom-tom and a sort of guitar. As a rule the men take the 
most active part in the dance, jumping and kicking about like colts, 
while the women stand in a ring, singing and clapping their hands, and 
keeping time with their feet. It is singular how plump and healthy they 
all appear, since they will hardly touch a piece of meat if it is not 
putrid, and they do not hesitate to devour it if the animal is known to 
have died of disease. As the land of the Ovampos is given over prin¬ 
cipally to agriculture, it has no villages. An exception might perhaps 
be made in the case of the chiefs werft, or kraal, which is surrounded, by 
a palisade half a mile in circumference. Like his humbler subjects he 
is the center of a numerous family of wives, children, slaves and servants, 
who live around him in hundreds of mud huts. The surroundinof wall 
is, of course, stronger, consisting of two or more rows of poles, as do 
also the walls which enclose the pathways leading to all the principal 
huts of his immense household. These defenses are of a very substan¬ 
tial nature, and each member of the king’s tribe contributes his quota 
of material and labor to make them so, the only remuneration of the 
workman being an unlimited distribution of native beer. 

SCATTERED CENTRAL AFRICAN TRIBES. 

Shortly after leaving the Orange river in Southern Africa, one 
commences to meet the tribes of a great nation which is nearly allied to 
the Caffres, the energetic and progressive Bechuanas. Their complexion 
is light, although they have short, crisped hair. Each tribe has a village 
with a chief of its own, and although their huts are of the prevailing 
style, cone-shaped and thatched with grass, those found nearest the 
southern coast of the continent are plastered within and without. Their 
dwellings have no windows; the doors are about three feet high. Each 
hut is fenced with wicker-work and the village entire with a thick fence 
of thorns. They dress in skins and wear charms attached to coppex’ 
chains around their necks. One of these is a bone whistle which they 
blow when in danger, as if to call their guardian spirits to protect them. 
Instead of slaying an animal and studying its internal organization, to 
determine what the result is to be of any of their enterprises, they shake 
dice and throw them on the ground. Living so near the Caffreland 
they are obliged to be warlike, and therefore go armed with a thick 
shield covered with the skin of a camelopard, a triangular-shaped battle 


io8 


SCATTERED CENTRAL AFRICAN TRIBES 


axe, and a javelin which is thrown to kill at one hundred yards’distance. 
Both sexes go bare-headed and besmear their hair with a composition of 
grease and glittering sand. The men engage in war and hunt. The 
women cultivate the fields and drudge at home. The average wife is 
quoted in the market at ten or twelve head of cattle ; is sold sometimes 
for a spade, or a string of beads. 

The weapons of nearly all the tribes south of the Kalahari Desert 
being made of iron, those natives who are the most expert blacksmiths 
are held in the highest estimation. A blacksmith is above the genius— 



A NATIVE VILLAGE. 


or rather, a good blacksmith is a great genius. He gets his ore by a 
peculiar process of smelting; his anvil is a large stone, his hammer a 
small one and his bellows are made of skins. The natives poison their 
arrows by dipping them in the juice of a certain shrub. They also 
impregnate springs and streams with the powerful poison so that when 
antelope come to drink they fall dead, and, strange to say, are used as 
food without bad effects.^ When the bee extracts the poison, however, 
and the natives indulge in the honey, of which they are very fond, the 
effect IS fatal. The black rivinoceros, the fiercest of his species, eats the 






























bCATTERED CENTRAL AERICAN TRIBES, 


109 

shrub with great greediness, and comes from his repast with his ferocity 
unabated. 

Just before plunging into the great desert of Central Africa a pas¬ 
sage must be effected through the country of the Bamangwatos, a name 
which the reader is not expected to keep in mind, but only to consider 
as implying an odd sort of people burdened with an odd sort of name. 
It is a very rocky country; but the pods of the Acacia tree and its gum, 
which are eaten with relish, fatten both cattle and natives to a very 



comfortable size. The tribe is of quite a commercial turn, perferring to 
let braver people kill the elephant, while they are careful to lay in a 
goodly stock of beads and trinkets which they barter for the ivory. 
They, in turn, will pay preposterous prices for old muskets, powder, 
bullet molds and rusty iron ladles, snuff and coffee. With their 
“improved” firearms they occasionally kill an elephant themselves, and 
when the huge beast rolls over on his side, all the “savage” comes out 
of them. They dance around the carcass, and with shouts of joy brandish 
the knives with which they intend to cut it up. The leader of the party, 
as if unable to suppress his growing appetite, suddenly makes a dash at 
the head of the elephant and cuts off a nice beefsteak from the temple, 
which is the choiest bit of meat to be found. His companions are soon 




































I lO 


SCATTERED CENTRAL AFRICAN TRIBES. 


into the body, skinning and cutting up the carcass as if on a wager, and 
smearing their bodies with gore. The flesh is cut into strips of from six 
to twenty feet in length and about an inch in thickness, hung on poles 
to dry and wound up in bundles. When they wish to make a meal of 
one of them they uncoil one of the rolls and commence to chew, as a boy 
does a long strip of slippery-elm. The feet of the elephant are baked 
in a hole which is dug in the ground, and they, with the trunk, are really 
delicious eating. But the Africans do not stop with the temple piece, 
the flesh from the body, the feet or the trunk; they crack the skull, the 
spinal column and all the bones, sucking out the marrow with the keen¬ 
est of enjoyment. Reaching Lake N garni, the Zambesi River region, and 
Lake Tanganyika, larger and more diversified tribes or nations come 
under observation than those which are further south. Anionof them 
the lamented Livingstone spent the last years of his life and his faithful 
negro servant, Wainwright, was among the most affected mourners at 
his funeral. Those inhabiting the immediate vicinity of the Zambesi 
river are spoken of in connection’with the ancient kingdom of Monoma- 
tapa, or Mozambique. 

It is not very surprising, though it may at first seem an anomaly, 
that some of the largest of the native towns of Africa have been dis¬ 
covered far in the interior. These people are seldom of pure negro 
blood, but may rather be of that Ethiopian stock which has been 
emigrating from the northeast, via the River Nile, since history began. 
A dash even of Moorish or Arabian blood appears. But it is quite 
reasonable to suppose that the basis of these nations, with their cities 
and governments and manufactures, was laid in the fact that the more 
powerful tribes pushed the weaker ones away from the inhabited 
portions of the continent but could not extinguish the memory of what 
they had learned. These ideas they put into practice and, unmolested 
in their new homes, they used the materials at hand to found cities and 
governments. And who shall say that many of these little fragments 
were not broken from the body of that great Ethiopia, which rivaled 
Egypt when her glory was brightest and then mysteriously dissolved 
into the darkness of Central Africa? 

Two hundred miles or more above the nations which dwell on the 
banks of the Zambesi river there is a large town, which is given over to 
the manufacture of cloth by the felting process and to the working of 
all kinds of useful metals. Gold and silver its inhabitants value far below 
copper and iron. 

Two hundred miles further to the north, in the Valley Londa, in 
the very center of the continent, is a compact little kingdom of people 


A CENTRAL AFRICAN FEASl 




















\ ' V?T ^^•''' 7'-A ''.'S9a '"' ' -/A.K^ 

t '. •• V^'U'' A'A' 

lifc^ ' i * ‘ ''v-*- '■ s . -’' ' -7 ■■ 

^ t . ^ . V L« . • .1’ ' ..'*■ »-• ^ ' 'V • < 7 ^' M 


t 

. 


' -.."’A 


•' A'‘ ■' ^ 'Iw 

. v^ • • * 1. ’ M 'k '>A i • ^ 4 ♦ 73 iiilin^ '• 4^_^* ' 


1 ^> 


■V. 


!', », 


saps' ■ K '■■',!■ ;'■*■ '’-gi*'-'■>;,^iW; 

? fv^ i . ? W' . N‘4f'i^rX ' . IrS * / • ^ - V I ^ r.i- >1' » i - - «v iv ^ •*•* • ' ‘ 

•. ■• . saSEa ^■•'‘''■ ■* V' -•'■ ^ '• v«Bi '.''-‘A 


m"* • <' i- 

r*/'"- 

r.' 


. < • •"' .■ • - » f—.•#•»’ 






'V. 


'Vi' ■"' 


i» ^*J- 

. c^*v- y 


> ■■. A 


m.: 


1 « , 


Pk * » 


-') 


*♦ 






■y 






♦ . .-r n ' r 

' ' '-.-S ■ ' : - • 


'1'^. * 


V 



»* • 




/.>' ''. 


. A ■ ' 

f>" *■«^ 


* • 'l. 


V, i>.' 


' '«P^-AA - ■ s^■^ *■.' - /■. 

5‘'AA4:A V ,;• k- ■ • 



/ • * 


4 



, A > 


'Vvt''’^^ 7 ■V'■•!. - ' '"a . ^ 



■ 7 ^_ • .. - d = ,« ■ 



t • V 


• , .%^ - A' 



%aa./’ 


/V • * 'l< A' r. ” •. * • . ■*• '‘>-r*' • 

IIE^i^V J I jjt*, . ^ ^ V -’ • •?-% > * < ' i' * 

tS:i t ’ ' ». ’ ' * '/.' ^A ^ *f ^ Vfc •S 

. AA ■ '''i’- ’ • ‘ . i^,i ' .^^^Hv;VAt»A ,^. 

. ■■ . . *.■■'•' ' * * T ■ -' ' '■ - ^ 'v.v ’V'f'J 

‘'\- A. A ._ -SQi^'lAC.'Vf, ■; .-“ . V '. -^A- ,;»■'j 

'V • ; •, ... ‘- ■ "*' ;* '-'■ ^^.‘■6?ISa i!lv 4 

' / . 1. LlA » •■!., . ' . I ii -*• ‘ ‘j 




..-A ^-. 


*. , 


r ' •j •. 

» ^(, ■' < > 

■ ; ’■ A’ ■ • 

*«■- ^ , 






I 


?»li ’.»* . ■• .>v >>, 

'AAl.-uvA**''', 




a '^'Vi,'.'' •Vs'*'^ ■• ' - .' ■^' -‘f*; ' ,i 

■ ..A 

” 4 - 


_/**-» V^V*W- . 



> 






‘^'A,' _.-. 'I,'. V a';^ i| 

A .-. yy AiJr >vL ' > 'AA.t 





SCATTERED CENTRAL AFRICAN TRIBES. 


I I I 


who hold to many of the truths of Christianity; who believe \n the im¬ 
mortality of the soul, religious freedom and trial by jury, and have a 
written language. They are also manufacturers and their trade extends 
to the Bechuanas in the south. The Hottentots even of South Africa 
often find their way to their capital with ivory and ostrich feathers, to 
barter for their goods. The complexion of this people is about as light 
as the Moors and they have straight hair and regular features. 
Their language is somewhat similar to the Hebrew and they have a 
tradition of a general deluge. Churches or temples they have none, but 
worship in their own houses or in groves. The priests are supported by 
voluntary offerings of the public. As to their government, the king may 



CENTRAL AFRICAN MANUFACTURES. 


1-2-7—Wooden Drums and Drumsticks. 3-4—Iron Bells. 5-6—Palm Wine Coolers. 

be deposed for cause. They have magistrates who are elected by a 
magisterial college, and who must be vouched for by ten good citizens. 
The college consists of forty-five members, sixteen of whom are selected 
by the chief for the trial of causes. They are not allowed to receive 
compensation, lest their decisions should be biased; and they need no 
salary, for they, as well as the king, maintain themselves by means of 
some handicraft. They write upon the prepared leaves of a palm tree 
with a pencil of red clay mixed with resin. These Bermegai manufac¬ 
ture both woolen and cotton cloth. The dress of the men consists of a 
long frock-like garment which reaches below the knees and is fastened 
behind with loops, and long striped stockings. Rank and occupation are 
indicated by the color of the upper garment. The royalty wear green, 
public men yellow, farmers blue, mechanics red and priests white. 
Black is worn by criminals and such as are under public censure. TW 














I I 2 


SCATTERED CENTRAL AFRICAN TRIBES. 


dress of the women is a loose robe of light cotton cloth, reaching almost 
to the feet. Their country houses are made of logs; their farms inclosed 
by hedges of wicker-work; their wagon wheels made of the segments of 
large logs with a body of wicker-work and drawn by zebras, oxen or 
antelope; and their plows are skillfully fashioned, the share being the 
breast-bone of a large bird of the condor species. 





THE CONGO CAFFRES. 


ORDERING on the Atlantic Ocean for about one thousand 
miles, and stretching over three hundred into the interior, a 
great portion of which territory is yet unexplored, is the 
country ot the Congos, or the Congo Caffres, and once the 
scene of great activity in the slave trade. Through the north¬ 
ern region runs the great Congo river, whose source is now 
known to be Lake Tanganyika. The Congos are a branch of 
the Bechuanas, or Tiearly related to them. Planted in the 
very midst of the country of the negro, they have lost much 
of the activity and fierceness of their Caffre progenitors, and 
th eir distinguishing qualities are now indolence and good-nature. When 
once aroused, however, they are exceedingly fierce and reckless, as 
Stanley and other explorers have found in fighting their way down the 
Congo and through their country. At the time of their discovery by 
the Portuguese, the Congos were a very numerous people, and most 
improbable stories are told of the immense armies which they could 
bring into the field. One of these is that the king actually marched 
against a rebellious chief, at the head of 900,000 men. It is probable 
that this tale is on a par with the great stories which were brought back 
to Portugal by the discoverers of the region, and which resulted in an 
attempt to subdue and Christianize the country. 

The capital of the kingdom was situated on a high mountain com¬ 
manding a magnificent view of the surrounding country, and when most 
prosperous, is said to have contained at least 40,000 people. But with the 
growth of the slave trade, the repeated invasion of hordes of Giaghi, a 
terrible tribe from the east, and serious civil dissensions, the country was 
so decimated that now it is far from populous. The Portuguese and 
early missionaries did much to improve the general condition of the land. 
They built wooden palaces for the king and his chief, planted gardens and 
fruit trees, and erected substantial houses both for private dwellings and 
places of public worship. The “ upper classes ” of the Congos felt the 
benefit of these acts, but the mass of the people, then as now, lived in 
8 I ^^3 



























THE CONGO CAFFRES. 


I 14 

their bamboo huts, scratched their ground with a hoe, and, if they wore 
any clothing, made it as scant as possible. Then as now, slavery was 
the penalty for all crimes except murder, the difference being that in the 
palmy days of the slave trade, immense numbers of Congos and other 
native tribes were shipped openly to the western world, whereas now the 
**afdc is pursued with fear and trembling. It would seem that the chiefs 



TYPES OF THE CONGOS. 


themselves brought many of the horrors of the slave trade upon their 
country by selling into servitude their own people who had fallen under 
their displeasure, or were criminals, and also those whom they had cap¬ 
tured in war. When the supply fell short of the unrighteous demand, 
then the country suffered all the horrors of fiendish raids, chainings, 
burnings and desolations which accompanied the hunters of human prey. 
Domestic slavery is still common among the Congos, and if the slave 












THE a)N(]0 CAFFRES. 


II5 



commits a crime, he may be transferred, or, in other words, sold. In a 
word, slavery is held over the Congo as a cattle-fine would be over his 
cousins, the Bechuanas and Caffres ; his is not a country of cattle, but it 
always has been a country where slavery was an institution, and this is 
therefore made the basis of his criminal code. A man who cannot 
pay his debts may become a slave, and places his children also under 
bondage. 

o 

If he is found guilty 
of witchcraft, he is re¬ 
duced to slavery. A pris¬ 
oner of war has the choice 
of death or slavery, and 
there- are scores of other 
loopholes through which 
he may escape from mis¬ 
fortune and death into 
serfdom. It must not be 
inferred, however, that 
the slavery of Congo or of 
Southern Guinea is an in¬ 
stitution which is attend¬ 
ed, as a rule, by the abom¬ 
inations which have dis¬ 
graced it elsewhere. The 
master has no right to sell 
a slave, after he has proved 
faithful, from the sordid 
motive of gain ; and if he 
punishes his servant un¬ 
justly, he exposes himself 
to all the horrors of witch¬ 
craft which the slave can 
command. He puts the 

children of his slaves at acongoking. 

some kind of light work, 
such as bringing wood and water, or taking care of the younger ones, 
while the man is called upon to do everything that a man servant should. 
The master treats the slave almost as he would his own child. They 
both call him father, work with him, eat with him, and sleep with him ; 
cases are not unknown of the slave rising to a greater portion of wealth 
thar his master, and yet preferring to be his servant. A slave, also, is 











FETICH WORSHIP. 


116 

sometimes the owner of slaves. So that the word and the institution do 
not carry with them the odium which is attached to them in countries 
where even domestic slavery means cruelty. When the slaves are under 
the arbitrary power of a chief, the case is somewhat different; for his 
rank in the state is based upon slavery, and when he dies he is allowed 
to sacrifice the number which fixes his station, that he may have attend¬ 
ants in the other world. 

There are royal families from which the king must be chosen, but there 
is no regular order of descent. The people elect their king in-so-far as 
they decide what particular member of the family shall rule them ; and 
before the king is crowned, everybody has a right to say exactly what 
they think of him. His character is “raked over the coals” as 
thoroughly as if he were running the gauntlet of a political campaign. 
If he is miserly he hears of it. If he is deceitful, or cruel, or conceited, 
or has stolen, or cheated, or lied, or swindled, he hears of it from some¬ 
body. Every sharp tongue does its best ; but when the king is once 
inaugurated, the clatter ceases, and the royal arm cannot thereafter be 
lifted to chastise the offender. After he becomes king he is sacred. 

Lower Guinea is a country where there are no taxes. Its revenue 
consists of voluntary offerings made by the captains of the vessels who 
come to trade at the different ports. If the captain wants merely a load 
of wood, he pays about thirty dollars, ten of which go to the king and 
the balance to the head men. If the vessel comes for a cargo of ivory 
and is obliged to make a long stay, something like one hundred dollars 
is presented to the king and his chiefs. Besides these offerings, which 
are considered somewhat in the nature of royal rights, if the business 
proves quite successful, the captain of a vessel may make an additional 
donation to the king of a piece of cloth or something else of value. 

FETICH WORSHIP. 

The superstitions of the Caffres of this region are more gross, if 
anything, than are found among the tribes further east. They brought 
with them their own ideas of witches, fetiches, rain-makers, spirits and 
mysterious agencies, and upon these have been engrafted the supersti¬ 
tions and practices of the negro. P'urther south and east they were 
more in the nature of ideas, but the negro fashion was to embody those 
ideas in some material shape ; so we find that the Congos have a great 
spirit who pays visits to their different villages and lives for a period in 
a large, flat house which has been provided for him, and from which he 
■^‘‘^Golines and oyerawes all the women and children, by rolling forth 


FETICH WORSHIP. 



Strange noises and keeping them in a constant state of terror. He is 
supposed to dwell in the bowels of the earth, but comes forth by request 
of the wise men. When he desires to make a solemn vow, the Caffre 
will swear by “the spirit of his ancestors the Congo has his images, 
skulls or bones in a small house built for them, to which he takes food 
and drink and a share of his profits, and where he goes to make his vows 
or narrate his troubles. Although the people have ostensibly several 
kings, with regular seats of government, and the Portuguese have often 
a word to say, there are as many independent communities as there are 
chiefs, and neither kings, chiefs nor Portuguese have any authority com¬ 
pared to the power which the “ fetich ” exercises over them. The fetich 


A PRECIOUS PAIR. 

is sometimes a horrible figure set up In the woods or in a small house 
built for It, and Is supposed to represent something which will detect the 
evil doer and punish him. Those who know of crimes and do not give 
information are also In the power of the monster. The Congos have 
their laws, and some of them very severe against stealing and other 
crimes, but these have no perceptible weight when compared to the 
effect which “fetiches” and other superstitious notions have to prevent 
the commission of crime. Their custom Is to erect a hut In the middle 
of the street for the convenience of the priest, who exorcises evil spirits. 
The process is often stretched out to a great length, requiring two weeks 
or more to be perfected. Day and night dancing, drumming, feasting 
and drinking are continued, and all at the expense of the relatives of the 
invalid. If she Is a female her face, bosom, arms and legs are streaked 































































FETICH WORSHIP. 


118 

with white and red chalk, her head adorned with red feathers, and usu¬ 
ally she can be seen pacing in front of the shanty wildly brandishing a 
sword, gnashing her teeth, foaming at the mouth and exhibiting other 
horrible symptoms. If the patient recovers, she is required to build a 
little temple near her own house in which her evil spirit is supposed to 
reside and to which she regularly takes offerings to keep it at a safe 
distance from her. The house erected to the Great Spirit in some of the 
Congo villages, is also an object of terror to those who have not been 
initiated into the mysteries of the interior. The term of initiation is the 
period in the boys’ lives between fourteen and eighteen, and even after 
they grow to manhood their respect for the Great Spirit does not seem 
to have weakened. Upon any matter of grave importance, such as an 
agreement between different tribes, he is invoked as a \yitness, after 
which the covenant is binding. The Great Spirit also gives sanctity and 
authority to the laws. 

The Congos have a spirit of the woods who comes out at night 
bundled up from head to foot in dried plantain leaves and accompanied 
by young men. The party dance through the streets of the village upon 
the occurr:nce of any unusual event, such as the birth of twins or the 
inauguration of some one into office, and the women, children and slaves 
hurry away to hide themselves. It is suspected that this spirit is used 
jirincipally to keep the weaker portion of the community in proper sub¬ 
jection. None but males are admitted to his company. The women, 
in turn, have a secret order whose meetings are held in the woods. They 
march there in regular file where mysterious ceremonies are conducted 
to the sound of a crescent-shaped drum and by the blaze of a fire. Some¬ 
times they spend whole nights in the woods. As they pretend to detect 
thieves and other wrong doers, and also to perform wonders, they 
undoubtedly feel that they have “ got even ” with the gentlemen Congos 
and their Spirit of the Woods. 

For the detection of witchcraft a powerful drink is used. Small 
sticks are laid down at a short distance apart, and if the suspected per¬ 
son, after he has swallowed the medicine, can step over them without 
staggering, he is pronounced innocent; if he reels or otherwise shows 
that his brain is affected he is either put to death or heavily fined and 
banished from the country. Sometimes the test is made by requiring 
the accused to pass under a row of bent twigs stuck in the ground. The 
drink which is called “ Casca” has been analyzed by scientists and found 
to invariably affect the limbs so that one loses all power over them; if 
the dregs only are taken the effect is different, and this the “ fetich” man 
who prepares it, and gives it, probably knows. He therefore holds the 



KILLING WITCHES IN WEST AFRICA 




































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































I 20 


FETICH WORSHIP 



life of the person in whose hands, though this is not known either by the 
ignorant women and children who have been dancing around the hut 
beating their drums and shaking their rattles, nor do the men who sur¬ 
round the poor fellow while he is undergoing the ordeal, armed with 
knives, hatchets and sticks. It would not be surprising if he should 

ith- 


stagger 


w 


out having tak¬ 
en any power¬ 
ful drink under 
such circum¬ 
stances; but 
should he so 
much as stum¬ 
ble, the howl- 
imr multitude 

O 

set upon him 
and cut and 
hack him to 
pieces in a fe^v 
minutes. 

The vil¬ 
lage house, in 
charge of the 
fetich man, 
is generally a 
small square 
hut, with mud 
walls w h i c h 
are painted 
white, and cov¬ 
ered with the 
figures of men 
and beasts in 
red and black 
colors. Here 

the guardian spirit of the town resides. This hut is also the place where 
the fetich man deposits his charms which bring health and rain, and ward 
off all misfortunes ; and from his hoard he supplies the men, women and 
children of the entire region. You see them everywhere—bits of wood, 
with a carved head protruding from a pouch ; a bundle of filthy rags; 
or small antelope’s horns and land shells, suspended from the neck, waist 


A FETICH MAN OF THE COAST. 











































































































HOW TIIEV TREAT THE DEAD. 


I 21 

and shoulders of little children. In the huts and over their doors hang 
hideous images of clayorwood^ but always colored red, black and white. 
The tribes on the Congo river are considered the most proficient manu¬ 
facturers of fetiches, and their fetich men are in great demand, sometimes 
carrying their ugly figures for long distances, accompanied by their 
attendants beating drums and chanting a dismal song as they go along. 
Besides the fetich men of the interior, there are those who live on the 
coast and make a specialty of controlling the surf, and regulating it 
according to the wishes of the natives who may, or may not, wish to 
hsh. When on duty they usually station themselves on a high cliff, and, 
covered with shells and sea-weed, wave their arms about, mumble to 
themselves, and go through with other mysterious motions calculated 
to keep up their weird reputation. Their knowledge of natural signs 
enables them usually to delay a trial of their powers until everything is 
j)ropitious; until the wind dies away, and the power of the surf weak¬ 
ens, when the native remunerates the imposter for his services. 

Notwithstanding that they are far above the bulk of the population 
in acuteness they are sometimes exposed and killed by the infuriated 
natives. Not many years ago a native village was destroyed by fire, the 
inhabitants refusing to lift a finger, as they relied upon the protection 
of their fetiches, which had been given them by one of the greatest 
men in the land. When the fetich man returned to the ruined village, 
he found not only his house gone but his occupation, and was nearly 
beaten to death by those who previously would not have dared to look 
him in the eye. 

The Congos show the same reverence for old age, and the same 
crude ideas regarding legal justice as the Zulu Caffres, only modified by 
their different “ habitat.” If a person, besides having reached a good 
old age, has become noted in trade, tribal affairs, or war, he is almost 
worshipped as a deity on earth. The youth must not pass his dwelling 
without bending low. If they hand him anything, they do it on their 
knees, and address him as “father;” while if they venture to sit in his 
presence, they must be separated a distance proportionate to the differ¬ 
ence in their ages and station in life. A reproof or a curse from such a 
person is deemed a great misfortune. This feeling which we see evinced 
to a degree which almost runs from the pathetic into the ridiculous is 
carried forward in their worship of ancestors. 

HOW THEY TREAT THE DEAD. 

The burial customs of some of the Congo tribes are so singular as 
to merit attention, the treatment ol the dead as of the living depending 


122 


HOW THEY TREAT THE DEAD. 


on the social or tribal station of the deceased. If he is a stranger, twc 
men take the body, tie the wrists and knees together, and then, by 
means of a long pole, carry the pauper to some point outside the town, 
and buiy him anywhere. If the corpse is that of a man, his staff is laid 
on the grave; if that of a woman, a basket marks her burial place. 
Should the deaih be tliat of a king, or chief, however, the case is quite 
different. The body is placed in a shallow pit, dug in the floor of the 
hut, where the deceased breathed his last, and covered with a thin layer 
of earth. For a month fires are kept burning over the grave, the hot 
ashes being continually spread over it. The body is then uncovered 
and smoked in a frame work of sticks, the whole operation being wit¬ 
nessed by the family of the deceased, the women keeping up a dismal 
wailing day and night. With the hut full of smoke, The foul atmosphere 
caused by the emanations from the body and lungs of those who crowd 
the scene of the “wake” and the superstitious excitement attending the 
ceremonies, it is a wonder that any members of the dead chief s family 
pass through the ordeal alive. But the body- being at length com- 
pletely desiccated, is wrapped in cloth and stood upright in the corner 
of the hut, where it may remain for several years; for it is necessary 
that every surviving relative should be present, when the body is wound 
in hundreds of yards of cloth, and the last rites of burial are performed. 
These consist of dancing, firing of guns, drinking the native beer made 
from Indian corn, and eating roast pig. It is the custom in some of the 
coast districts to place boots and shoes on the feet of free men when they 
are buried, and the spirit of the deceased is thereby thought to imbibe 
some of the advanced ideas of the white man, for which these people have 
unbounded reverence. In some places there are regular burial grounds, 
the mounds being ornamented with broken crockery and bottles, but, as 
a rule, the body is buried in a private spot, and after a time may be 
resurrected'and the bones used as fetiches. Paradoxical as the statement 
may seem, the Congos, naked though they be, assume a mourning habit 
of black. They first roast a .species of oily ground-nut, and grind it into 
a black paste, which is smeared over the whole or a portion of the body. 

In short, the reverence for old age and ancestral worship, bloody 
sacrifices, the observance of new moons, purifications and various other 
Hebrew customs, exist among the Caffres of Africa, as among nearly 
all the Ethiopian' tribes of any prominence. The Congos show the 
same eagerness for a numerous progeny as did the Jewish patriarchs. 
Upon the birth of twins they rejoice exceedingly, some of the tribes 
having processions and regular jubilees in honor of the event. A public 
crier proclaims the fact of the birth of even a single little one, the pop- 


HOW 'niEV TREAT THE DEAD 


1^3 


ulatlon turn out en masse, and the new-born infant is brought forward 
for inspection. Its little head is then sprinkled by the chief man of the 
town, and most of those present add their quota of water, with their 
pledges of friendship, to the blessing invoked upon it by the head man 
of the village. It has thus been given a name, and been formally 
received into the community. The people have no idea where this form 
of baptism originated, but everything points to the belief that most of 



A GROUP OF MUSICIANS. 


their customs, distorted now by a long separation from the best intelli- 
i/ence of the world, had their birth in the land of Canaan, and in their 
journeyings across the continent, via Christian Abyssinia, have been 
metamorphosed into their present forms. 

The Congos seem to have two kinds of dances. Possibly one may 
be the fashionable dance, and the other the “country;” for one is 
mostly indulged in by the coast tribes, and the other by those of the 


















































RIGHTS OF RROPERTV. 


I 24 

interior. In the former a ring is made of the participants and specta¬ 
tors, and all assembled clap their hands in time with the drums and 
other musical instruments, which should be described before the dance 
commences. First comes the “marimba,” a flat, hollow piece of wood, 
upon which are fixed a number of thin, iron tongues, which are snapped 
upon a wire on which some glass beads are strung. The instrument 
sometimes has a gourd attached to the under part. All in all, it is to 
the Congo what the guitar is to the Spaniard. Then there is an instru¬ 
ment made by a palm stem, split and grooved, and rubbed upon with a 
stick ; another is a combination of a bow and a gourd,'the string being 
struck with a stick, and the gourd rapped gently against the stomach. 
Where the tribe has advanced beyond the simpler forms, and has been 
able to obtain a small powder barrel from traders, or make a hollow 
wooden cylinder, a more complicated sort of instrument is manufactured 
by stretching over this a piece of sheepskin. A piece of wood is 
inserted with a knob at the end to prevent it slipping through, and the 
performer’s hand is wetted and thrust into the cylinder (open at both 
ends). The piece of wood is then grasped and pulled lightly up and 
down, the result being a booming sound not unlike that proceeding from 
our own big bass drum. These instruments, and others, may be brought 
to give eclat to the dance. They strike up, those assembled clap their 
hands, and soon the dancers, both men and women, jump yelling into the 
ring. The dancing consists chiefly of a slight motion of the head, feet 
and arms, and a great swaying of the body, and a tremendous twitching 
of the muscles above the hips. The two or three who commence are 
soon covered with perspiration, and give place to several others, the 
dancers apparently being applauded according to the rapidity with 
which they can make their muscles quiver. The dancing is kept up all 
night, or if there is no moon, as long as the great heaps of dried grass 
last, which furnish illumination for the occasion. The other dance has 
the same accompaniment of musical instruments and spectators, but is 
taken part in by a man and a woman. The pair shuffle their feet with 
great rapidity, pass one another backward and forward, and are gener¬ 
ally more boisterous, reminding one of the plantation dancers of the 
south. 

RIGHTS OF PROPERTY. 

Regarding the rights of property, there seems to be a marked differ¬ 
ence in the disposition of the Congo Caffres and the Zulu Caffres. In 
a certain sense, supposing he is not suspected of being uncanny, the 
Zulu’s person is sacred; but in Congo the most common way of collect- 


RIGHTS OF PROPERTY. 


125 


mg debts is to seize the person of the delinquent or make prisoners of 
' his friends, and retain the body or bodies until the matter is settled. It 
is but justice to the Congo Caffre, however, to say that he usually notifies 
the person or persons, through the elders of the village, that unless his 
claim is satisfied, he shall proceed to extremities. 

Similar to this practice is the method pursued by the husband 
whose wife has deserted him, and married another man. Poylgamy is 
much more general among the sea-coast tribes than among those of the 
interior, the former being, as a rule. In far better circumstances, and 
their members able to support numerous wives; for ability to support Is 
the sole measure of a man’s responsibility. The Bushmen, or bush tribes, 
however, are poor and usually have but one wife. When she, therefore, 
is taken from him, he puts into practice an unusual but not (In his 
country) a disreputable mode of revenge. Shouldering his musket, he 
starts for the first village near him, and shoots anybody—It matters not 
whom. He then proclaims his reasons for the action, and asserts that 
the villagers must hold as responsible the man who stole his wife. 
Gunners are started out from this village, who in turn shoot some 
innocent party In the next; and so blood continues to flow until the 
whole country Is aroused, and It Is no longer possible for one village 
to be revenged upon another. Then the chief of the last village 
where a murder has been committed, summons a council, and the 
relatives of the man who has been slain agree to accept a certain sum 
of money from the guilty one who was the prime cause of all the 
trouble. He pays his money, but is ostracised from even African 
society. 

Another case in point. The member of a sea-coast tribe purchases 
a wife from a Bushman. She runs away, because of cruel treatment, 
and secretes herself with her relatives. If they refuse to give her up, 
the husband may seize not only the persons and property of the rela¬ 
tives, but, if they are poverty-stricken, the bodies and chattels of any 
fellow townsman. If the woman flies to a distance and becomes the 
wife of another man, her friends are still held responsible unless hus¬ 
band number two should see fit to pay the original purchase money. 

Among the maritime tribes, wives are not bought, but sisters and 
daughters are exchanged. There is no marriage ceremony, but the 
groom marches to the residence of the bride’s father at the head of a 
noisy procession, with drums and fifes playing and banners waving, and 
after a season of drinking and dancing, returns with the bride to his 
house. His arrival Is heralded by the firing of muskets and cannon. 
If the bride comes from a bush tribe, much of this ceremony Is dispensed 




126 COAST AND INTERIOR TRIBES. 

with. She is at once placed under charge of the “ head wife ” to be 
refined into a polite member of society. 

COAST AND INTERIOR TRIBES. 

From what has already been said it will probably be inferred that 
the coast tribes and interior tribes are widely separated in material 


HEAD DRESSES OF THE CONGOS. 

prosperity and general attainments. They are, in fact, as diverse as a 
Hottentot of the Cape of Good Hope, who is master of several 
languages, and the Bushman of the mountains, who grubs for worms, 
and eats them when he finds them. The houses of native tribes along 






























































COAST AND INTERIOR TRIBES. 


127 


the coast are usually quadrangular in form, constructed of bamboo and 
covered with mats made of the bamboo leaf; divided into five or six 
rooms with raised clay floors, if the occupant is well-to-do; neat, clean, 
dry and airy. You see chairs, sofas, tables and clocks, and the native 
trader who receives you has on a large square cloth which trails on the 
door. His wife is also decently clad, but the massive rings around her 
limbs greatly detract from the grace of her movements. The women 



CONGO HEADS. 


show real skill in dressing their hair, and when, unluckily, they become 
bald, they are in the habit of covering the defect with a wig made from 
the fibres of the pine-apple leaf, which, as a counterfeit, leaves little to 
be desired. Such civilized customs as this are only in vogue with the 
l:)on“ton of even the maritime tribes. 

And speaking of the appearance of a Congo’s head, it varies from a 
smooth scalp, to the hair which is fashioned into the semblance of a 
Roman helmet with a round horn projecting in front, Those who shave 
tile head clean or in various complicated patterns, are often provided 
vvitU neither razor nor scissors, If nothing else comes handy, they 























COAST AND INTERIOR TRIBES. 


I 28 

skillfully split a piece of glass from the bottom of an ordinary bottle, and 
use that upon the head of the luckless victim. The coast tribes are 
quite apt to treat their hair in some way. The interior tribes often let 
it grow into a tangled mass of wool, dirt and palm oil, or comb it 
straight up and ornament the front with cock’s feather or a red flower. 
Some of the tribes shave their hair all round, letting the hair in the 
middle grow upright. Some plait their hair in little strings, twisting 
them round and round until they end at the top in a round knot, looking 
as if they had baskets in their heads. 

The Congo seldom indulges in the excitement of the chase. As a 
rule he is too indolent. He will occasionally shoot an antelope or a hare, 
but it is an event in his life. You find him at his best, however, when 
he starts out with the other villagers upon a hunt for field rats and mice, 
which he consiaers great food dainties. The party are armed with hoes 
and little bows and arrows to dig, cut and shoot their prey. Wickerwork 
traps, into which the rats and mice run or by which they are caught 
around the neck, are placed across the field paths. Then the bushes are 
beaten with sticks, and the little tender bodies are soon strung on a pole 
and roasted over a fire. There is also a large white grub of which he is 
very fond, which is roasted and used as butter. 

The interior tribes build their houses in a much more primitive 
stvle than those of the coast, many of them having a fashion of arrang¬ 
ing them in two parallel rows, varying in length from a few hundred 
yards to a mile or more. They are often situated on high hills, and the 
end of the street is barricaded, the walls of the houses being protected 
by piling against them brushwood on the outside, and thick blocks of 
wood inside. At intervals the long range of common houses, or parti¬ 
tions, will be broken by a more pretentious structure, occupied by a chief 
or head-man. The whole appearance of the villages indicates that they 
were built for defense. Hidden as they often are in the midst of a dense 
forest of plantain trees, they are a novel and picturesque sight; but one’s 
feelings will be rudely shocked if he does not give notice of his 
approach; for otherwise he will be considered an enemy, and a well- 
directed shot from a native guard will make him realize that the Congo 
Bushman is on the alert. The interior furnishings are what might be 
expected, consisting of a few sleeping mats, some blocks of wood to sit 
on and some rude cooking utensils. The men and women are clad only 
with strips of bark, the women ambitiously striving to see who can make 
the largest holes in their ears and noses, and wear the biggest piece of 
fat meat therein. 

But a maritime tribe does not necessarily imply an opulent one; it 


COAST AND INTERIOR TRIBES. 


I 29 

would be manifestly absurd to consider any whole tribe of West Africa 
in that category. I he most ambitious interior tribes eventually 
leach the sea-coast, and their most worthy members usually become 
traders. It is singular also how soon they take to the ocean life. The 
most noted canoemen on the coast, the people who occupy the coast 
near Cape Lopez, descended from the mountains of the interior not 
many years ago, and now they shoot over the roughest sea in their 
feather-weight canoes, perched upon a narrow strip of wood thrown 

across the sides, now using the feet to bail out the water, while their 
hands are busy with the 

paddles; and again using 
their feet as paddles while 
they rest their arms; now 
skimming around a sailing 
ship like a sea-gull; again 
tiring of the amusement and 
climbing up the side of the 
boat with their light canoes 
to visit the captain and crew. 

They make also a long boat 
of very hard wood, capable 
of seating thirty or forty, in 
which they make excursions 
of fifty or one hundred miles. 

In this region, or the Pongo 

O' o 

country, live the remnants 
of the Giaghi, who ravished 
the kingdom of Congo when 
the Portuguese were the 
lords of the coast and pat¬ 
rons of the Congos, and 
who were so instrumental in 
depopulating the whole country. The appearance of the Pangwes who 
have not adopted coast manners, indicates an origin far to the East; 
perhaps they are a tribe from the Gallas country of Abyssinia—a shoot¬ 
ing meteor from the restless body of the Tartars of Africa. Their com¬ 
plexion is several shades lighter than that of the neighboring tribes, and 
their features are comparatively regular. Their hair is softer than the 
negro’s, and is generally plaited into four braids, two short ones in front, 
and two long ones which are thrown over the shoulders. A red oint¬ 
ment covers their bodies; they are almost naked, and armed with a huge 
9 



CONGO SHIELDS. 



















































130 


COAST AND INTERIOR TRIBES. 



knife in a sheath of snake or guana skin; a hatchet is carried on the 
shoulder, and usually a bundle of long spears. When on the war-path 
they use cross-bows and poisoned arrows, and have shields made from 
the skin of the elephant. They are workers in copper and iron, their 
skill in the manufacture of the latter metal supplying a large extent of 

country with a circulating medium. They are ad¬ 
dicted to hunting, and excel all others in killing the 
elephant. One of their methods is to first draw 
around a browsinof herd a kind of forest vine which is 
exceedingly distasteful to the animals, and over 
which, if unmolested, they will not go. A strong 
fence of upright posts is then constructed outside this 


A COLLECTION OF ARROWS. 


cordon, and poisoned plantains scattered within. Of these the elephants 
are very fond, and soon become weak from the effects of the poison. 
The natives now mount into trees, and with their spears finish the work. 
It is from this region that large quantities of India-rubber are exported, 
and the manner in which the blacks collect it is indicative of their crude 
methods generally. India-rubber is the milky juice of a giant tree- 
creeper. It dries very quickly, however; so the negro makes a long 
gash in the bark with a knife, and as the milky juice gushes out, it is 
wiped off continually with his fingers, and smeared on his arms, 

en^th a thick coating is formed, and this is 
peeled off, cut into small squares and boiled in water. 





































































COAST AND INTERIOR TRIBES. 


I3I 


South of the Congo country is the kingdom of Loango. Since the 
decline of the slave trade, the people have devoted themselves to export¬ 
ing ivory and wax and to the manufacture of baskets, boats and canoes. 
Their boat building is especially excellent. Trade is free to all, but is 



NATIVES OF LOANGO. 


transacted through the king’s chief minister. The king himself is sacred, 
and eats and drinks alone. Any person who should dare to look upon 
him would be put to death, and the statement is made upon authority, 
that a dog was put to death who looked up into his master’s face when 
he was eating; also that a little child who was accidentally left in the 
royal banqueting hall, went to sleep, and upon waking saw the king eat 
—whereupon it was put to death, and its blood sprinkled on the king’s 













































132 


COAST AND INTERIOR TRIBES. 


fetich. Dwarfs and albinos who are born in Loanw are reorarded as the 

o o 

kings spirits, and therefore as his sacred property. From the sacred 
kin pf who has his collection of hideous fetiches down to the humblest 
Loangoan, idol-worship is faithfully practiced. Fetich houses disgrace 
every village and disfigure every forest and stretch of country. 

The Congo Free State, which adjoins the kingdom of Loango, is 



A ROYAL PAIR. 

ostensibly governed by a “ lindy,” but his chiefs show no great respect 
for his authority, though he is attended by a royal guard, who are 
dressed in stiff, round hats, in skirts and sandals, and are armed with 
huge swords which depend from bands thrown over their bare shoulders. 
The chief of the province, or of the town even, is a ruling power com¬ 
pared to the “lindy.” When a chief dies his son does not succeed him, 
but his brother or uncle whose age and experience would, as a rule, 

































('OAST AND INTKRIOR TRIBES. 


133 


carry more weight. The “chenoo’s” insignia of office is a small staff of 
black wood, inlaid with lead or copper. In addition to these divisions 
of society, there are those who collect the revenue and carry on the 
trade; the farmers, who own property and wives and slaves, and fisher¬ 
men and laborers who possess not even a portion of a fowl or hog. In 
times past the king of Congo might be called the ruler of the territory 
now occupied by the Congo Caffres. Under his protection the Portu¬ 
guese established sugar-cane plantations, manufactured indigo and 
smelted iron. With the decline of that power, however, he fell from 
his high station, and is, at the present time little more than chief of San 
Salvador, and a few other small towns. There are so many smaller 
chiefs and kings than the potentate of Congo, however, that even now 
he cuts quite a figure when he takes a notion to go abroad and visit the 
country. He attires himself in a white shirt, fastened round the waist, 
a blue velvet coat edged with gold lace, and a cap of the same material 
and color. The king is furthermore attended by his royal guard of 300 
blacks and his private band, consisting of about a dozen horns made of 
elephant tusks, and drums hollowed out of pieces of wood covered with 
sheepskin and rubbed over with beeswax. A piece of beeswax is left 
sticking in the middle, and when the band gets ready to play, the drums 
are warmed before a fire and the operators smartly tap the sticky cen¬ 
ters with the flats of their fingers, which produces a resonant sound. 
Thus he proceeds, and many of the chiefs through whose towns he 
passes, drop on their knees to him, bow their heads to the ground and 
clap their hands, remembering that he was once great, though they 
now refuse to pay him tribute. Others present him offerings — gourds 
of palm wine — as he proceeds on his tour through his provinces. Some 
of this homage which is shown him is also due to the fact that the king 
of Congo is known to have in his possession a most powerful fetich, 
which has descended to him from his ancestors. 

Some of the blacks in this part of the country are armed with flint 
muskets of the heaviest pattern, and ornament the stocks with brass 
tacks. They usually load them to the muzzle, and notwithstanding the 
rebound, they persist in firing them from the side without much regard 
to aim or the distance they may carry.^ An amusing story is told of a 
tribe along the river, who captured a cannon from some traders, who 
were on a commercial trip. The natives became involved in a dispute 
with a neighboring village, and being warned of an attack, planted the 
cannon in the path along which their enemies would march. This they 
loaded to the muzzle with powder and stones, and laid a long train of 
powder to it. When the assaulting party appeared, the besieged fired 




^34 


Coast and interior tribes 


the train, and took to their heels, while the enemy tied, terrified, in the 
opposite direction. Next day the enemxy sent proposals of peace to the 
town which had so tremendous a fetich. 

Angola adjoins the kingdom of Congo. It is the only colony on 
the western coast, of all the early settlements made by the Portuguese, 
over which the natives acknowledge they have not still control. It is 
opposite Mozambique, on the eastern coast, and it has long been the 
dream of the Portuguese to connect the two colonies by a continuous 
chain of forts. There are several fortified places in Angola; the first 
links in the chain have been forged in Mozambique, and one or two 
expeditions have crossed the continent between the two points; but it 
is probable, since now their richest source of revenue, the slave trade, is 
being surely dried up, that the Portuguese will never carry their original 



A BOAT OF THE WARLIKE CONGOS. 

plan into effect. The capital of the colony was for nearly three cen¬ 
turies the principal depot on the coast for the supply of slaves. For 
hundreds of miles ereat herds of slaves were marched down to St. Paul 
de Loando, each able-bodied man bringing with him an elephant’s tusk. 
Such sights are no longer seen, but the Portuguese still engage in a 
little of that trade, and their commerce is also considerable with the 
natives, from whom they obtaiq ivory, skins, gum-copal, turtle-shell, 
cocoa-nut oil, and a little sugar-cane and coffee. The mountains of 
Angola abound in iron and copper, gold also being found in consider¬ 
able quantities; but although prospecting parties of Americans, 
Englishmen, Germans and Frenchmen are not uncommon, neither 
the Portuguese nor the natives seem thoroughly to have realized their 
value. 







































































COAST AND INTERIOR TRIBES. 


135 



The natives of Angola were formerly quite 
celebrated for the fine quality of iron which they 
smelted; yet they and the Congos generally now 
seldom smelt from the ore. They are usually 
satisfied to take the iron hooping from bales ob¬ 
tained from traders and transform them into the 
simple hoe which they use in scraping the ground, 
or into their spear heads. 

Their furnace is a hole in the ground, but 
their bellows are identical with that used by the 
ancient Egyptians. What is quite singular also, 
is that those tribes who do not speak the same 
language, but who belong to the same great sub¬ 
division of the Caffre family, should use the same 
kind of bellows in the smelting of ore. 

Although in most districts of the colony the 
Congos still cling to their savage ways, some of 
them along the coast are remarkably intelligent, 
having learned to read and write and to success¬ 
fully manage a large share of the trade of the 
country. Aside from a few natives who have 
thus lifted themselves from the prevailing state 
of ignorance and laziness which pervades the col¬ 
ony, the only Congos who have any regular occu¬ 
pation are those employed by the government as 
burden carriers. As there are no public roads 
in the colony, all the traffic which passes to and 
from the coast is conducted by means of these 
beasts of burden, whose endurance, as they toil 
over rugged mountains and through dense for¬ 
ests, is something which is almost superhuman. 

There are thousands of Congos thus engaged. 

They are furnished by the head men of the dif¬ 
ferent villages both to the government and to 
Europeans who may be abroad on exploring 
expeditions. 

As all of these provinces, in fact with few 
exceptions the whole of Guinea, is given over to 
the ivory trade, it may be interesting to know 
how the article reaches the coast. It is carried a carved tusk. 
from points as far as four or five hundred miles from the ocean by great 


* 



136 


COAST AND INfEKlOR 'I'RIKES. 


squads or caravans of natives. They generally travel in the dry sea¬ 
son so that they will not be impeded by the great number of streams 
and gullies which they have to cross. The tusks are carried by the 
natives on their heads and shoulders, being fastened in a cage of four 
short pieces of wood. Very heavy teeth (for they sometimes weigh 175 
or 180 pounds) are slung to a long pole and carried by two natives. 

Some of the native traders of Ano^ola collect and deal in hides, 
skins and other articles, traveling long distances in pursuit of their com¬ 
mercial ventures. They are averse to manual labor, however, preferring 
to rely on this spirit of enterprise and their sharp wits. Others, on the 



DREARY SCENE IN SOUTHWESTERN AFRICA. 

Other hand, who are also of the educated class, do not even stir far from 
home, but trade a little in wax and other produce. Once a year the 
owner of the hives climbs the baobab tree, in whose branches they are 
placed, and draws up a basket for the wax and honey. His hives are 
made by splitting a large branch of a tree in two, hollowing it out and 
afterwards fastening the halves together. Taking with him some dry 
grass and fire he proceeds to smoke out the bees and take advantage 
of their industry. But whether lazy or industrious, when the natives are 
once seized with the educational fever, their pursuit of wisdom is indeed 
































COAST AND INTERIOR TRIBES. 


137 


absorbing. It is no uncommon sight to see children of both sexes, early 
in the morning, squatted on the ground, wrapped in their cotton clothes, 
lazily but contentedly learning their letters. A man is never so happy 
as when, in exchange for some article of produce, he receives from a 
trader a sheet of foolscap. This he rolls up carefully and hangs by 
a bit of string to his pack, and when he arrives at home he is pretty sure 
to sit down and with his quill pen and charcoal ink write a letter to a 
friend or a high-sounding petition to a chief. 

Beyond Angola the traveler soon reaches the rocky and barren 
country of the Damaras and Nemaquas, which is being quite generally 
entered by practical Germans, who brave the wastes for the rich mineral 
deposits which are known to exist there. The province of Benguela, in 
Angola, which borders upon that country is also a mineral region, but 
the tribes of the mountains are so fierce that scarcely any attempt has 
been made to take advantage of the knowledge. They are said, natur¬ 
ally, to be harmless, but contact with slave-traders has made them 
suspicious, brutal and dangerous. “The land along the coast is low 
and flat, but it rises in a series of terraces toward the interior, and fur¬ 
ther back into mountains of considerable height. The low ground near 
the coast, especially during the rainy season, is extremely unwholesome. 
On the high ground and among the mountains the air is pure and 
healthful. Numerous rivers descend from the mountains, among which 
sulphur, copper, petroleum, gold and silver are found. Vegetation is 
luxuriant, and both tropical fruits and European vegetables grow well. 
Elephants, buffaloes, zebras and antelopes are common, hyaenas and 
horses even venturing down to the city of Benguela. This, the capital 
of the province, is on the coast, and is so unhealthful that no Europeans 
can withstand the climate. It is especially fatal to women. The most 
unwholesome months are March and April, the rainy months, and next 
to them January and May. The harbor is commodious and safe, but 
difficult of access. Ivory, panther skins, and the other productions of 
the country are brought into the city, and it is visited occasionally by 
Portuguese and Brazilian trading vessels. The city was formerly the 
principal slave market for the trade with Brazil. It is under the juris¬ 
diction of the Governor-general of Angola, who resides at St. Paul de 
Loanda.” Benguela comprises the southern districts of Angola, and 
some idea of the extent of this country may be gained when it is stated 
that it is larger than California. It is also similar in shape to the 
American State, although its eastern boundaries are not definitely fixed. 
The natives, who are estimated to number between 2,000,000 and 
3,000,000, speak a dialect of the Bantu or Caffre tongue. 


138 


Coast and interior tribes. 


In the desolate region beyond we meet those tribes which connect 
Congo Caffres with the Hottentots. It seems as if they were the weak¬ 
est and most degraded of both races who have been driven into this 
terrible country. From Cape Negro to the Orange River, a distance of 
900 miles, there is no fresh water and nothing green, with one unimport¬ 
ant exception, which only serves to make the fact more evident. The 
coast is a low desert, which runs into a rocky ridge, and beyond the 
sandstones is a more elevated and rocky desert. But as if to recom¬ 
pense man for the blight that she brings upon the vegetable kingdom. 
Nature has been careful to make rich deposits of the useful metals in 
this sterile region. 

Upper Guinea, to which our next voyage of discovery tends, pre¬ 
sents, in some respects, a complete contrast to Lower Guinea. The 
natives are negroes proper, and their states and kingdoms are either 
compact and powerful in arms, or vital forces in the commercial and 
Mohammedan world. They may not be more civilized than some of 
the Central African kingdoms, but whether their people are bloodthirsty, 
aristocratic or commercial, they evince a masterly command of their 
resources, which seems almost lacking in the Caffres of Lower Guinea 






THE LAND OF NIGRITIA. 


FTER we had completed our tour of Lower Guinea we found 
that we had traversed the great continent of Africa east of the 
Sahara desert and south of the Mountains of the Moon, and 
felt that we had become quite well acquainted with the Ethio¬ 
pian under his most diverse forms of civilization. In the cen¬ 
tral portions of the continent we discovered quite a smattering 
of negro blood, but had only touched upon the borders of the 
Land of Nigritia. It lies now before us, embraced and held 
together by the wide-spreading arms of the Niger river. Like 
an immense bar of iron Sudan lies firmly below the Great 
Desert, pressing Guinea and Senegambia into the ocean. This vast 
region is the home of the negro — indolent and passionate, dull and 
intelligent, brutal and affectionate. He was thought so low and degraded, 
so devoid of all manly spirit, that the greedy eyes of the slaver and 
the pitying eyes of the philanthropist have rested upon him for four 
centuries as the most fit object of their attention. The representatives 
of all nations have set foot upon the coast of Nigritia, and there assisted 
to drain from the interior its ivory, its gold, its slaves and its riches of 
every description, or have bravely attempted with their weak levers to 
pry the tremendous land from its mire of ignorance and superstition ; but 
still it lies there with its savage kingdoms, its fierce tribes of the 
mountains, its milder people of the coast, its republics, its human sacri¬ 
fices, its superstitions and its idolatries. Fragments of the race have 
broken off into the desert, such as the Tibboos in the east, and an alien 
tribe now and then has established itself in their midst, as the Foulahs 
of Senegambia, but it would be speaking within bounds to say that West 
Central Africa is purely the land of the negro. A little Moorish and 
Arabian blood oozes in from the north and a little Ethiopian blood drips 

in from the south, but the type is there in greater purity than can be 

139 
































140 


rilE LAND (.)F NIDRI'l'lA 


found in any other race — the negro with his unctious skin, his thick 
lips and protruding jaws, his broad nose and small ears, his woolly hair, 
his retreating forehead and his thick skull. 



MOUNTAIN WARRIORS. 


Notwithstanding the protection which European powers are giving 
to the milder negroes of the coast, the fierce warriors of the interior are 
supplanting them. Toward the ocean the native star of empire takes 
its way, as will become more clear when we come to speak of the negro 
kinofdoms of the coast. 

o 











































































SENEGAMBIAN TRIBES. 


THE JALOFS. 

ENEGAMBIA is the western-most country of Nigritia, and 
although the smallest political division, its people represent 
three tribes, who seem already to lead the race in commercial 
talent and intellectual force. The Jalofs occupy the delta 
formed by the Senegal and Gambia rivers. Of all the negroes 
they are the handsomest, being tall and graceful in form, but 
glossy black, with the woolly hair and thick lips of their race. 
Their language is soft and agreeable, and in their conversa¬ 
tion as well as their personal bearing, they evince a realization 
of their claim that they are the most ancient people of West¬ 
ern Africa, and were formerly the dominant race. They are generally 
mild, hospitable, generous and trustworthy, but remembering their 
descent, they will not intermarry with other African tribes. Among 
themselves also they have a marked species of caste. They prostrate 
themselves before an autocratic emperor, proud though they be, because 
this has been the custom handed down to them from their powerful 
ancestors. Their nobles are the “good Jalofs.” The smiths are called 
the “ tug ; ” tanners and sandal makers, the “oudae;” fishermen, the 
“ moul musicians and bards, the “gaewell,” and wanderers or tramps 
“saobies.” The “gaewell,” though they faithfully chant the praises of 
their ancestors and materially assist the nobility to keep alive the spirit 
of pride which so distinguishes the Jalofs — the faithful and useful “gae- 
well” cannot live within town walls, keep cattle, drink sweet milk, or be 
buried. They are refused interment on the ground that nothing will 
grow where they are buried. The Jalofs do not even seem to have that 
respect for European advancement which marks the most of the negro 
tribes, and except with the agents of trading stations, have little com¬ 
mercial intercourse with foreigners. They are easy and polite, but have 
a cool indifference for all pretensions but their own. Notwithstanding 
which, they manufacture cotton cloth of a firmer texture and a more 

141 


























142 


THE FOULAHS. 


durable color than any other tribe in Western Africa. With this they 
clothe themselves, both men and women wearing two square pieces, one 
around the waist and the other thrown around the shoulders. Although 
fearless and expert in hunting, and splendid horsemen, they are quite 
domestic in their habits, and do not wander abroad in quest of advent¬ 
ures and gain, as do their more enterprising neighbors, the Mandingoes. 
They live simply and their houses are small, but a man of any standing 
will have two houses — one in which he sits and sleeps, the other in 
which his cooking is done and in which he eats. 

The Jalofs occupy four provinces, number over one million souls, 
and are under the rule of an emperor, who traces his dynasty back to 
the most ancient of the royal houses of Western Africa. The penalties 
for a violation of his laws are very severe, but there are few of them 
which any one would care to violate. Any one, for instance, who 
sleeps under a certain kind of mosquito netting which is peculiarly 
royal, is liable to be sold as a slave. To come into the presence of the 
emperor without prostrating one’s self is a serious crime ; but there 
are no William Tells among the Jalofs, for they are glad to prostrate 
themselves before so august a personage. 

A portion of this tribe are strict Mohammedans, and others have 
never become adherents’ to any faith, but whatever they are, and 
wherever they are, they are pagans in the matter of fetich worship. In 
conformity to the general exclusiveness of their dispositions, they 
observe their religion quietly and faithfully, but unlike the vigorous 
Mandingoes, they do not attempt to spread its tenets. They are firm 
believers in witchcraft, and, strange to say, wear the same kind of 
charms to ward off its evils, and resort to the same ridiculous ordeals to 
detect it, as the most Ignorant of the tribes of Central and Southwest¬ 
ern Africa. 

THE FOULAHS. 

The Foulahs of Senegambia and the Fellatahs of Central Soudan 
are believed to be a branch of the Nubians, who emigrated westward at 
a very early day. Some ethnologists have attempted to trace their 
origin to the Malayan stock. Their complexion is a brownish black, 
their hair soft and curly, forehead good, lips thin and nose of the 
Ethiopian but not the Nigritian cast. In stature they are of the 
medium size, and limbs delicate but well formed. They are Moham¬ 
medans, but have engrafted upon their religion the pagan superstitions 
and worship of the negro. They have a tradition that they are the 
descendants of Phut, the son of Ham, and hence wherever they settle^ 



THE FOULAHS. 


143 


they seem desirous to perpetuate the fact. The Foulahs are the largest 
and most powerful of the three great families of Senegambia, occupying 
Futa—Torro, near the Senegal river, Futa-Boudu and Futa-Jallon 
to the north of Sierra Leone. Many of them are good Arabian 
scholars and have a remarkable knowledge of the Koran. They are peo¬ 
ple who seem to possess the faculty in a remarkable degree of doing as 
Rome does. They are industrious and enterprising in their dealings with 
the European ; courteous and gentle with the Asiatic ; cunning and sel¬ 
fish with the Moors ; but in whatever position they are placed, show a 
strength of mind, superior even to the Jalofs, who are their neighbors and 
the aristocracy of the negro race. One thing also which stands greatly to 
their credit, is that they have never participated in the slave trade, 
except that in a few cases they have sold criminals into servitude instead 
of putting them to death. By many of the negro tribes it is considered 
infamous to injure a Foulah ; thus highly are they respected ; and a 
blessing is said to rest on any territory which contains one of their 
villages. 

Until the early part of the present century the Fellatahs had been 
living a roving life in the forests of Central Soudan, tending their 
cattle, and keeping out of the way of the warlike people of Bornoo. 
They were governed by their chiefs, who held also the position of 
religious teachers to them ; for they were strict Mohammedans. One 
of these, a prophet as well as chief, so effectually aroused them that the 
people, scattered as they were, flocked to his standard and under him 
subjugated seven or eight rich provinces, the empire of Bornoo to the 
east and that of Yarriba to the west. He extended his conquests even 
to the shores of Senegambia; many of the Foulahs joining him, he 
assigned them a province and formally incorporated it as a portion of 
his empire. The emperor-prophet died insane, through religious fanat¬ 
icism, and his son succeeding him, the conquered states made an 
unsuccessful attempt to shake off their yoke. The empire continued to 
flourish, the son fortified his capital (Sockatoo) which his father had 
built and was able to bring into the field a larger army than any prince 
of Africa. Sockatoo itself, surrounded with walls and spacious gardens, 
and embellished within by mosques, public squares and market houses, 
stood on a gentle eminence which overlooked a branch of the Niger, 
and was second to Cairo in population. With the exception of Alex¬ 
andria it would probably still occupy that position, but the empire is 
now divided into several states. Bornoo early regained its indepen¬ 
dence, and the powerful empire of the Fellatah was eventually dismem¬ 
bered. Its people, however, remain as the representatives of a race 


144 


THE FOULAHS. 


different, in many respects, from the Nigritians, who hem them about, 
and the great empire is divided among a number of princes. Ganda, 
about forty miles from Sockatoo, is the seat of a powerful prince, and 
Timbo is the capital of the Senegambian state. 

The Foulahs first appear in history about the middle of the four¬ 
teenth century, when two of the members of the tribe are recorded as 
journeying from the borders of Senegambia to the king of Bornoo on a 
religious mission. It is held by many that this region was the original 
seat of their kingdom, and that they spread east into Soudan. As a 
race, however, they have conquered so many states and absorbed so 
many people, that it is next to impossible to identify them, beyond 
dispute, with any of the eastern families, or even to say what should be 
considered the typical Foulah. The best that can be done is to take 

the statements of 
their own people 
and consider the 
traditions which 
have come down to 
them, which all 
point to the prob¬ 
ability that they 
came from the 
East, brill Of in Of with 

' o o 

them the tastes 
and aspirations of 
the ancient Ethi¬ 
opian civilization. 
They have a tradition, among others, that their ancestors were white 
and certain tribes call themselves white men. Certain it is that their 
appearance, and methods of thought in many respects, stamp them as 
intellectual. Their language is neither African nor Semitic, and 
although they are in a continual state of warfare with the Arabs, the 
children of the better classes are taught to read and write the language 
of their enemies. They have schools and mosques scattered throughout 
their provinces, are workers in iron and silver, are skillful manufacturers 
of woodenware and leather, are dairymen and cattle breeders, and intel¬ 
ligent traders, although they cannot be considered as being so purely a 
commercial race as the Mandingoes. Although under the rule of 
princes, they are immediately governed by republican chiefs, and virtu¬ 
ally manage their own domestic affairs. 

The usual dress of the men is a red cap with a white turban, a 



A NATIVE CUP. 


(u) SECTION OF SAME. 












































THE MANDINGOES. 


H5 

snort white shirt, a large white robe, white trousers trimmed with red 
or green silk, and sandals or boots. The women wear a striped gar¬ 
ment falling as low as the ankles, a rosette or ribbon is placed in the 
hair, which is neatly dressed, and bracelets and ear-rings usually com¬ 
plete the list of ornaments. 

Although commercial, and the most scholarly of the West African 
races, the Foulahs are warriors of no mean standing. The men wear 
swords at all times, and even go armed with bows and arrows on horse¬ 
back. A few years ago the princes of the Foulah, or Fellatah states, 
could bring into the field a well-disciplined force of 25,000 cavalry, and 
a proportionate number of infantry; but the people have so diffused 
themselves throughout Western Africa that their influence is more as a 
race than as a civil or military power. Their population is estimated at 
6,000,000, and with the Mandingoes they divide the honor of supremacy 
among the tribes of Western Africa. 

THE MANDINGOES. 

Outside of Turkey and Arabia this great tribe, whose home is 
between the sources of the Senegal and Niger rivers, are the most ener¬ 
getic propagators of Mohammedanism in Africa. Like most people 
whose native country lies among the mountains and higher regions, they 
are hardy, enterprising and ambitious. They are the travelers and 
merchants of the continent, and in the pursuit of their operations after 
ivory, gold dust and slaves, have penetrated into more of its hidden 
nooks than any other people alive. The valleys of the Senegal, Gambia 
and Ni^er see throuMiout their lenorth and breadth their three- 
cornered cotton caps and their leather pouches, filled with scraps of Arab¬ 
ian writing, while Upper and Lower Guinea and Central Africa itself 
draw upon the Mandingoes for articles of commerce and potent charms 
written in an unknown tongue. They are a people who seem to most 
closely connect their religion with their pleasure. As they go traveling 
throuMi the continent, conducting caravans, acting as agents between 
native tribes in their commercial dealings, or in pursuit of their own 
schemes, they are ever on the alert to establish schools for the purpose 
of teaching the Arabic language and spreading the truths of the Koran. 
At the same time they are busy trying to get good value for the charms 
which they carry in their leather pouches, in doing which, however, they 
believe they are conscientiously laboring to capture the soul of the 
pagan. Their black faces have not the peculiar raven gloss of the Jalofs, 
but are sufficient, with their general features, their cheerful, gay natures 

10 


146 


THE MANUINGOES. 


and their great love for music and dancing, to place them in the Nigri- 
tian group of tribes. It may be said that from the equator to the Sahara 
Desert, the Mandingoes control the trade of the continent. They have 
extended themselves over Western Soudan, and small communities of 
them have located around many European settlements along the coast 
and along the rivers, where they manufacture sandals, bridles, whips, 
sheaths and various other articles out of their own leather, and sell 
amulets to the natives. But it must not be thought that the Mandin¬ 
goes are mere wanderers and a race of traders. They are most success¬ 
ful agriculturists and raisers of cattle, sheep and goats. They are often 
not only good Arabic scholars, bnt proficient as extemporaneous speak¬ 
ers, and make some pretensions to being poets. The regular education 
of the average child, however, consists, as among all Mohammedans, in 
being able to read and write a few passages from the Koran, and to 
recite their prayers. The six million, or more, Mandingoes whose pres¬ 
ence is felt in Western Africa, acknowledge the authority of their chiefs, 
Mandingo itself being divided into a number of petty states nearly inde¬ 
pendent of each other. Each free man, however, may appear before 
the general council of his tribe and speak as he pleases. Ereedom of 
speech is certainly a recognized plank in their system of government. 
Notwithstanding the people are independent and frank in their conduct 
with each other, society is divided into castes, as it is among the more exclu¬ 
de Jalofs. Next to the king or chief stand the teachers of the Koran, 
then artisans, dependent freemen, native-born domestic slaves, and slaves 
who were prisoners of war or criminals. Their Mohammedan education 
has severed them neither from pagan superstition nor native custom. 
They persistently cling to '‘Jumbo,” that monster who comes out of 
the woods clad in plantain leaves, to maintain proper discipline among 
the women and children ; their funeral ceremonies are attended by the 
same wailings and beatings of drums as we find in Lower Guinea and 
Central Africa, and the grave is dug in the floor of the house where the 
deceased lived. Occasionally the burial place is under the shade of 
a favorite tree and the spot is always marked by a rag flying from 
a pole. 











NEGROES OF UPPER GUINEA. 


N the Jalofs, Foulahs and Mandingoes, of Senegambia and 
Soudan are found the higher types of the negro race, if, 
indeed, the Foulahs may even be considered a type of the race. 
In the people of Upper Guinea we meet representatives of the 
race whom no one could doubt to be a concentration of all the 
broadest features of the negro, as he would be recognized by 
the veriest infant. His paganism has not been diluted by the 
faith of Mohammed, and fetich worship prevails in as exagger¬ 
ated a form as in Southern Guinea, with the lamentable difter- 
ence that human sacrifice has become quite common. There 
seems to be a more general belief in one god than among the tribes to 
the south, but the evil spirits appear also to have obtained a firmer 
hold upon the world, and therefore require more cruel forms of propitiation. 
Most of the tribes have names for God, and some of them are descriptive 
of his nature, as maker, preserver, benefactor. In the barbarous king¬ 
dom of Ashanti, whose people are noted for their bloodthirsty sacrifices 
and the general cruelty of their natures, he is called “ My Great Friend.” 
At the death of a king, a large number of his wives or favorite slaves are 
put to death to be his future attendants. The same practices are com¬ 
mon in the kingdom of Dahomey, east of Ashanti, although of late years 
the sanguinary nature of the sacrifices has been somewhat modified, 
throu'>'h the efforts of missionaries and the Powers of the West. Not- 
withstanding the reforms which have taken place, it is said that the 
present king of Dahomey, upon the death of his father, sacrificed five 
hundred human victims. Despite these abominations the Ashantis and 
the Dahonians are courageous, intelligent, and far above most of the tribes 
of Upper Guinea in general morality. 

SUPERSTITIONS OF THE NEGROES. 

Believing as they do that the world and all its affairs are in the 
keeping of either good or bad spirits, they do not always wait for their 





















148 


SUPERSTITIONS OF THE NEGROES. 



priests or fetich men to drive away the evil ones, but, upon stated 
occasions take matters into their own hands. At a ^iven signal a whole 

o o 

village will start up with torches and clubs, rush around their huts, 
yelling and beating here and there; then out into the streets, howling 
and waving their weapons, until some one in authority announces that 
the evil spirits have fled through the gates of the town. Pursuit does 
not end here, but the spirits who have brought sickness, or scarcity of 
food, or some other form of misfortune upon the community, are chased 
and scourged far into the woods, where they take up their abode in 

hollow trees, oreat 
rocks or deep riv¬ 
ers. Tree, rock, 
river and mountain 
are the dwelling 
places of both good 
and bad spirits and 
are never passed 
by the true negro 
without beinor of- 

o 

fered some propi¬ 
tiation, such as a 
leaf or a shell. He 
approaches a deep 
cavern with fear 
and tremblinof that 
he may receive 
spiritual advice. If 
he brinors a suit a- 

o 

ble offeri no* in the 

O 

shape of food or 
drink, he receives 
. an oracular answer 

to his queries, and although he may suspect that his priest is the spirit of 
the cavern, he dare not investigate for fear of the legion of spirits in 
whom he does believe. The negroes of Upper Guinea also have a very 
definite faith in the transmigration of the soul. Monkeys, crocodiles, 
snakes and sharks are the favorite dwelling places of the human soul, and 
are considered sacred. The consequence is that the crocodile, in certain 
localities, has been so pampered that he will follow a man for a long 
distance like a dog; the snake will bite or harmlessly lick the hand, as the 
keeper desires; or the shark will come to the water’s edge and wait for 


IN THE STOCKS. 























































































SUPERSTJTJOXS OF THE NEGROES. 


149 


his food like a tame trout. They believe in the unity of the human race, 
and have a saying that God offered the two sons of its first parents the 
choice between gold and a book; the elder son, and the progenitor of 
the black race, seized upon the gold, leaving the book to the younger. 
The latter was immediately transported to a colder country, retaining 
his book (his wisdom) and his white skin, while the son who seized upon 
the gold, retained his riches and his black skin, but lost wisdom. The 
negroes have also ridiculous traditions of a deluge which have become 
distorted in being handed down either from ancient times or from 
Portuguese missionaries, who may have visited their forefathers three or 
four hundred years ago. 

An African funeral in Northern Guinea is tantamount to a Fourth- 
of-July celebration in the United States. A bullock is slaughtered, 
ostensibly for the dead, but really for the living, and, except the value of 
the presents which are laid upon the grave of the deceased, the respect 
which can be shown their dead is commensurate with the amount of 
powder which is used in the discharge of musketry. If the deceased is a 
person of quality, sometimes a hundred men will be discharging their 
muskets over the heads of the mourners, enveloping everything in sti¬ 
fling smoke. After these ceremonies, two persons take up the coffin, 
which is often the section of a canoe, and proceed to the graveyard. 
They may not be allowed to go far, but may be cast hither and thither 
by the spirit of the dead man, and finally propelled toward the residence 
of a certain villager, who is thereupon accused of murder. He is 
confined in a hut built for the occasion, and, after the burial, is brought 
forward to undergo the “red-water” ordeal. The man is formally 
accused of murder, when invoking the name of God three times to pun¬ 
ish him in case he is guilty of the crime, he steps forward and drinks the 
water freely. Virtually the same ceremony is gone through with in South¬ 
ern Guinea to detect witchcraft; “red-water” is also so employed in 
Northern Guinea, with a like understanding that if the drinker is taken 
with vertigo, his life is forfeited. Children even are encouraged to hoot 
at him, pelt him with stones and spit upon him in case he does not pass 
through the ordeal. In many instances the men and women then seize 
him by the heels and drag him through bushes and over rocky places 
until there is no life in him. Again, there is the “hot-oil ordeal,” 
through which the innocent will pass unscathed. Ridiculous as these 
tests seem to be to the more rational ideas of the Western World, they 
bear a striking similiarity to those applied not long ago in England and 
America. 

The old story of fetich upon fetich is repeated in Upper as in Lower 


COAST TRIBES AND KINGDOMS. 


^ 50 

Guinea. In a word: “One of tlie first things which salutes the eyes of 
a stranger after planting his feet upon the shores of Africa, are the symbols 
of its religion. He steps forth from the boat under a canopy of fetiches 
not only as security for his own safety, but as a guaranty that he does not 
carry the elements of mischief among the people; he finds them sus¬ 
pended along every path he walks; at every junction of two or more roads; 
at the crossing place of every stream ; at the base of every large rock or 
over-grown forest tree; at the gate of every village ; over the door of 
every house and around the neck of every human being he meets. They 
are set up on their farms, tied around their fruit trees and are fastened 
to the necks of their sheep and goats to prevent them from being stolen. 
If a man trespasses upon the property of his neighbor in defiance of the 
fetiches, he is confidently expected to suffer the penalty of his temerity 
at one time or another. If he is overtaken by a formidable malady or a 
lingering sickness, twenty, thirty or forty years afterwards, he is known 
to be suffering the consequences of his rashness.” 

COAST TRIBES AND KINGDOMS. 

The tribes which have settled along the coast of the colony of Sierra 
Leone present few features of interest, with the exception, perhaps, of 
the Veys. Although their manner of living was not materially different 
from that of other neighboring tribes, they not only conceived the Idea, 
but carried It to a successful conclusion, of inventing an alphabet for 
writing their own language. It is said that the characters are all quite 
new and that the invention was entirely their own, although the Idea 
was no doubt suggested to them by the Mandingoes, who had labored 
among them as among all other tribes of the coast to induce them to 
learn the Arabic language, and become converts to Islamism. About 
twenty years were spent by their leading men in bringing the language 
to a fair state of perfection. 

The Liberian, or Grain Coast, is so named on account of the great 
quantity of Malaguette pepper, or Guinea grain, which was formerly 
raised in this locality. It was exported from the coast to England, and 
used in the manufacture of malt liquors until it was thought to be harm¬ 
ful. It is used as a medicine by the native doctor, and highly prized. 
The principal article of commerce at the present time Is palm oil, while 
forty years ago it was almost unknown in this region. The representa¬ 
tive people of this coast are the Kru, whose beautiful country Is covered 
with little villages. They are a progressive tribe, with a manly, frank 
and courteous bearing and noble in physique. Although they have the 


COAS'l' 'I'kIlJKS ANI) KIXCDUMS 


I5I 


narrow and peaked forehead of tlie negro, they have proven their 
capacity in more ways than one. A majority of the men speak the 
English language, and have quite an extensive knowledge of civilized 
customs, though they refuse to abandon many of their own. But they 
have greatly improved in the construction of their houses and it is 
nothing unusual to see modern articles of furniture in their huts. They 
have less intelligence than the Foulahs and Mandingoes, but are, as a 
rule, more straightforward in their dealings. They are the sailors of 



A VILLAGE ON THE GRAIN COAST. 

Guinea, and may be found on all seas; even in London, Liverpool and 
New York a Kru seaman is no remarkable sight. They are often 
absent from home for three or four years, shipping on one voyage after 
another. If the young Kru is fortunate enough to reach home with a 
stock of goods intact, the fatted sheep, goat or bullock is killed, and he 
is marched around the streets of his native village to the sound of the 
firing of guns and the acclamations of his fellow townsmen. He is con¬ 
sidered a fit subject for matrimonial honors and married off at once. 






















































































































































































152 


COAST TRIBES AND KINGDOMS. 


Soon he is restless for another voyage, which is taken; perhaps with 
like results as to the collection of property and being rewarded with a 
wife. By the time he has reached middle age our Kru sailor has accumu¬ 
lated quite a collection of wives and children, and settles down to 
domestic bliss. By the death of a brother or uncle he also has the 
possibility of inheriting a group of wives and children, and becoming a 
regular patriarch of the village, with the reputation of being a great 
man. There he lives in his peaked, tent-like hut, having a small gar¬ 
den in front planted to corn, peas, beans and bananas, his farm being 
some distance away so as to be beyond the reach of his cattle. This is 
sown to rice, which he both uses for his family and puts upon the 
market for sale. When the grain commences to head, he marshals his 
numerous children and posts them in different parts of the field, armed 
with sticks, stones, brass pans and anything which can be thrown, shaken 
or rattled, for the purpose of driving away the myriads of birds which 
threaten his harvest. Some of these youthful negroes, more ingenious 
than the rest, make a net-work of cords which connect with dry bushes 
to which bells are attached, so that they can lay around in lazy enjoy¬ 
ment, taking care, however, to keep their machines in rapid motion, and 
the birds in a constant flutter in all parts of the rice field. In four 
months from the time of planting, the grain is harvested, each head of 
rice being cut with a small bladed instrument no larger than a pocket 
knife, and the large bundles are carried home on the heads of men. 
This is a season of great excitement, and the roads leading into the 
villages are lined with the burden-bearers, some cheerfully trotting along, 
single file, but the majority of them screaming and shouting in a mad 
race for the village. When the rice of our well-to-do Kru is brought to 
his house, it is tied to the rafters in his attic (which is his granary) and 
there left to be dried and cleansed by the smoke from his household 
fire, which, in default of a chimney, passes through the roof. After¬ 
wards the Avomen remove the chaff in a small wooden mortar. In the 
upper part of the house are also stored earthen jars filled with palm oil, 
which has been extracted from the nuts of the palm tree. If the Kru 
sells his oil, it will go into the manufacture of soaps and candles, in 
England or France, but it is probable that he has other designs upon 
both rice and palm oil than to sell them for filthy lucre. The rice being 
nicely dried and cleaned, one of the wives boils a large quantity of it 
and places it on the floor in a wooden bowl. She then calls in her hus¬ 
band and the party of friends from a distant village whom he may be 
entertaining, and they seat themselves on the floor around the bowl, 
while she pours over its contents a generous quantity of fragrant palm 


COAST TRIBES AND KINGDOMS. 


153 


oil. Each man now thrusts his hand into the dish, and taking up a 
goodly allowance of the mixture rolls it into a ball, which he pitches 
into his mouth. Even strangers who visit a Kru village, have food and 
lodging provided for them free of expense; unless the townsman is thus 
honored, he has no regular meal, but he and his families eat when they 
are hungry. At the conclusion of a regular repast, the hostess brings 
in a jar of palm-wine and having removed the tuft of leaves which 
covers its mouth dips up a little of the wine and drinks it. This is to 
convince the company that there is no poison in it. We have observed 
the same custom among the Abyssinians and Gallas whose country is 
across the continent. Their habits at table no doubt seem filthy, but in 
other matters they are extremely cleanly, and perhaps using the hands 
so indiscriminately would not be considered so gross a practice if it 
were known how persistently the Kru performs his ablutions and rubs 
all parts of his body with pure palm oil. Clothing is not esteemed of 
more value than knives and forks, but a Kru would barter his rice or 
his pepper field for a quantity of large blue beads or a large string of 
tiger’s teeth. 

The government of the Kru is not substantially different from that 
of other people along the coast, there being one singularity to be noted, 
however, and that is that certain tribes have, from time immemorial,, 
divided themselves into families, and certainly one of these has retained 
a division of twelve as did the children of Israel. The families have 
each a head man, or patriarch, and the property is held in common. 
The head man is responsible both morally and materially for the con¬ 
duct of his family. When any object of public interest is to be 
considered, those who are entitled to take part in the deliberation gather 
in the “ open air. The representatives of the 

soldier element are the most powerful, next to the high priest of the 
nation who takes care of her fetiches, and guards her health and pros¬ 
perity, and the general of all the forces; both of the latter being 
presiding officers over the deliberptions of the palaver; then come the 
old men of the tribe. The soldiery are middle-aged men who have 
proved themselves in times of war. Young men, also, who aspire to 
become members of this influential body, form a portion of the circle 
which gathers around the two presiding officers, each member thereof 
having brought his stool and sat down with dignity in his proper place. 
A long staff is handed to the speaker who is to open the discussion by 
the high priest or generalissimo. The orator stands in the center of 
the circle and says, with an impressive motion of the staff. Listen ; 
To which the people respond. We do listen. He then states the 


154 


ASHANTI. 


object of the gathering, and when lie has concluded, in case he has not 
become excited, he hands the staff to the next speaker. If his remarks 
have become very forcible, he uses his staff for emphasis and concludes 
by casting it violently upon the ground — as though he were speaking 
from the rostrum and had thought best to bring down his fist,with a 
crash upon the desk. These popular assemblies make the l\iws and 
execute them, elevate the deserving humble, and confiscate the property 
of those who become too arrogant; they are common to most of the 
tribes of Upper Guinea, which have not been consolidated into such 
autocracies as Ashanti and Dahomey, and are the scenes of many bursts 
of native oratory which might arouse the emulation of the better edu¬ 
cated and more refined. 

ASHANTI. 

What is called the Ivory Coast extends fronj Cape Palmas to the 
kingdom of Ashanti. Quantities of ivory were formerly collected here 
by traders, but it might now with greater propriety be called the Palm- 
oil coast. There are no striking tribal peculiarities until we reach Ash¬ 
anti, or Ashantee, which is the seat of the most powerful state in West¬ 
ern Africa. Formerly the Fantis occupied the coast and the Ashanti 
kingdom lay almost among the Kong mountains ; but notwithstanding 
an English protectorate, the Ashantis power continued to extend until 
it has now virtually absorbed their rivals. The language of the two 
tribes is nearly the same, the Fantis being milder in their manners, as 
they have been long a coast people, and enjoyed a more intimate 
acquaintance with European civilization. The history of the Ashanti 
kingdom commences when the tribe appeared beyond the Kong mountains, 
whence it no doubt was driven by the more powerful and numerous 
Foulahs, when the empire of the Fellatah was spreading over so great 
a portion of Soudan ; its history has been one of war and blood-shed, the 
chief objects of pursuit being the Fantis, whom they drove to the coast, 
and whose territory they repeatedly desolated. At the commencement 
of the eighteenth century their implements of warfare were but the bow, 
arrow and spear ; but when their troubles with England commenced at 
the commencement of the nineteenth, they learned the value of powder 
and guns. The awful cruelty, or it may be fanaticism, which separates 
the Ashantis even from the cruel and fanatical tribes of Western Africa, 
was first brought forcibly to the attention of the world, when, to protect 
their own commerce and the Eantis, the English entered into one of their 
many campaigns of subjugation. The English force had greatly under¬ 
estimated the strength and determination of the Ashanti army, so that 



ASHANTI. 


155 


when the war horns of their barbaric foes were heard one winter day in 
1824, they marched confidently forward to meet them. Altnough the 
English brought several field pieces to bear upon the howling Ashantis, 
and defended themselves bravely with bayonets, their ammunition having 
been exhausted ; and though they were heroically supported by their 
allies, the Fantis, the combined forces were overwhelmed, cut to pieces, 
and their English commander killed. Others were taken prisoners and 
were spared, to sleep nightly in the same room with the heads of their 
chief and companions in arms, which were carried to Coomassie, the 
capital of the kingdom. The heart of the commander-in-chief was 
devoured by the great warriors of the Ashanti kingdom, and his flesh 
eaten by those of the lower rank, that they might imbibe the courage 
which he showed upon the field of battle, and which they could not but 
admire. His bones were preserved for a long time as national “ fetiches,” 
while one of the bravest of his ofificers was sacrificed to the protecting 
idol of an important native town. Two years afterwards the Ashantis 
were subdued, as they have been several times since ; but though repeat¬ 
edly subdued, both they and the Dahomans to the east, still control the 
coast, and are a perpetual menace to the trade of Great Britain, Portugal, 
P"ranee and other nations whose commercial representatives venture 
into their disputed dominions. 

Moderation is an unknown word in the vocabulary of the Ashanti. 
His king is absolutely despotic and is very likely to cut off his head, if 
he suffers defeat on the field of battle. He, therefore, does not fight 
with moderation, but with the desperation of despair. It is said that 
after several unsuccessful engagements with the English, many of the 
king’s nobles met their death by applying matches to kegs of powder 
upon which they were seated, knowing their probable fate should they 
return to the capital. He rules over them as they do over their slaves, 
who compose the bulk of the army. Should they by the slightest word 
reflect upon the character or policy of their royal master, so complete is 
his system of espionage that, in some mysterious way, he hears of it, and 
calls them to account. Some of these nobles have as many as one 
thousand slaves, and although they lead their men to battle and place 
all their other property at the disposal of the king, their privileges are as 
limited as those of the most common subject. Provided he has behaved 
himself (according to the idea of good behavior entertained by the king) • 
each noble is allowed to display his wealth once a year in the streets of 
Coomassie. If he thinks it politic, he loads down his children with all 
the jewels and gold he can collect, and with them parades the streets 
to the sound of music. He may not, however, wish to exhibit to the 


ASHANTI. 


156 

kina- the extent of his possessions, especially if he has much pure gold 
in his keeping ; for, at his death, the latter is the royal property—and 
death may come to him at any moment if he make too great a display. 
The consequence is that most of the gold, quantities of which are found 
in Ashanti, is promptly manufactured into ornaments. But the king 
still retains his clutch upon the property of the nobility by levying a 
heavy tax upon all gold ornaments, as well as all metal taken from the 
mines, which belong to the crown. There are a few exceptions to the 
latter rule, certain mines being sacred to the spirits and divinities. The 
royal treasury is also replenished by the tribute which the king levies 
upon a score or more of conquered provinces. Since the partial sup¬ 
pression of the slave trade, however, one of his most prolific sources of 
revenue has been running dry; although the institution of domestic 
slavery is conducted on the same tremendous scale which marks every 
other institution in Ashanti. 

The king of Ashanti being a polygamist, is not satisfied to be a 
moderate one, but for some inscrutable reason has drawn the line at 
3,333 wives ! When the grains of the kingdom are being harvested, or 
the fruits being gathered, the wives are dispersed over the royal planta¬ 
tions, laboring as if they were the meanest of slaves. This, in fact, is 
their condition. A man’s importance is measured by the number of 
wives whom he can bring into the harvest field to work for him and the 
number of slaves he can brina into the field of battle to fiafit for the 
king ; but the king only is allowed to reach the sacred number of 3,333. 
When his wives return from the harvest field, headed by the wife whom 
he most trusts, his whole capital runs to cover ; for should even one of 
his noblemen set eyes upon one of them, the head of that man is in 
danger. Any one who is caught in the W3,y must fall upon the ground 
and hide his face. When once they are housed in the two streets reserved 
for them in Coomassie, the king’s female relatives, or special messengers, 
may communicate with them through their bamboo walls. 

The wives of the more common Ashantis are also poor, degraded 
creatures They do not eat with him, but each brings her portion of 
the repast to her lord, and either retires, or remains with the children to 
receive in her little wooden bowl such morsels as he may see fit to dispense. 
This performance is said to give the lord of the household much manly 
satisfaction. It would be as unbecoming a true Ashanti to carry any 
spirit of mildness to the family meal as to show it in war. 

The houses of the nobles and rich men of the kingdom often have 
many rooms, and are so constructed as to leave a square or court in the 
center, into which the apartments of all the wives open. They receive 


IMHOMEY. 


157 


their visitors in a sort of portico, built from the side of the house, which 
is furnished with lounges and other conveniences. 

War is the great occupation of the kingdom, but agriculture, com¬ 
merce and manufactures have their part. It has a large trade with the 
interior provinces, such as Borneo and Sackatoo, and caravans even 
come from Cairo and Tripoli for its gold dust and ivory. When it is 
not quarreling with Europeans, much of its trade in these articles, how¬ 
ever, goes to the forts on the sea coast, where they are exchanged for 
manufactures. The Ashantis make a beautiful kind of cotton fabric, 
richly finished earthenware and highly tempered sword blades. They 
have made some advancement as manufacturers of agricultural imple¬ 
ments, and otherwise show an intelligence and ingenuity, which is all the 
more surprising when we consider their moral turpitude and the fiendish 
lengths to which their pagan fanaticism carries them. 

DAHOMEY. 

Adjoining the Ashanti country on the east is the kingdom of 
Dahomey, or the Land of Horrors. Its autocrat even rivals the king of 
Ashanti in the power which he exercises over his subjects, for his gov¬ 
erning power is not so much fear of personal injury as the greater dread 
of spiritual destruction. His subjects all consider him a demi-god, and 
not only put the property of the whole realm into his hands, but their 
very daughters. They grovel before him and throw dust upon them¬ 
selves as if they were in truth worms of the dust. They esteem it a 
favor to send their young girls to him every year and have him parcel 
them out to his guards or nobles, retaining the most pleasing for him¬ 
self. This custom nets him a large revenue (which is the more appreci¬ 
ated since the decline of the slave trade); for the king does not give 
away these maidens as rewards for bravery, but sells them to his sub¬ 
jects as so much merchandise. There are no freemen in the kingdom, 
each subject not only paying a head tax, but a tax upon everything which 
he eats, drinks and wears. The principal part of tiie revenue is now 
derived from duties on palm oil and ivory exported, and a duty levied 
upon every import. When a chief dies the king inherits his possessions 
absolutely, and is not even so kind as to make an exception of the furni¬ 
ture and household goods of the deceased but as he has provided the 
chief with wives, and everything that the chief has had during his life¬ 
time has been upon sufferance, so upon his death he takes everything 
back. 

The king of Dahomey does not even limit himself to 3,333 wives as 


'58 


DAHOMEY. 


does his neighbor, the king of Ashanti, but he takes as many as he 
chooses. His bodyguard is composed of women who are chosen from 
among the most muscular females of the land and brought to him from 
outlying districts. They are tall and commanding, are put thr^pugh a 
course of private and severe training, and are considered by him the 
flower of his army, as they are fierce as tigers and cruel as wolves. These 
Amazons have the greatest contempt for the male warriors, an'd when 
they desire to reproach one another with cowardice, say, with a sneer. 
You are nothinof but a man.” Most of them are furnished with bows 
and arrows, swords and clubs, though some are armed with muskets. 
Each of them is also furnished with a rope to bind prisoners. As they 
parade through the streets on public occasions, dressed in their sleeve¬ 
less blue and white tunics and short linen trousers, with hideous scalp 
locks dangling from their belts, or cowry shells fastened to their guns 
with coagulated blood (one for each man slain) it is like getting a 
glimpse of the three furies, repeated again and again. 

Dahomey is saddled with two kings, each absolute in his particular 
province. Europeans hear most of the city king, for he rules the cities, 
makes war, regulates the slave trade, and always appears to the outside 
world when scenes of cruelty are being enacted. He it is who makes 
the raids upon neighboring tribes, seizing the women and children for 
slaves, who are destined for sacrihcial victims upon the occasion of his 
own death or that of a relative; and once every year some hundreds of 
them are slain that the king may have blood to water the graves of his 
ancestors. His loy^al subjects express their homage to him by drinking 
the blood of the victims thus offered, intermixed with a plentiful suppl}' 
of rum. The unfortunate slave is led to the king by the official heads¬ 
man. This omnipotent ruler then whispers in the ear of the victim a 
message which is to be conveyed to his ancestors who have passed away, 
after which the headsman performs his duty. After decapitation and 
the collection of a sufficient quantity of blood for the purposes named, 
the bodies are dragged out of town and left to be devoured by beasts 
and birds of prey. Their skulls are cleaned and used as building mater¬ 
ial for palaces, as ornaments to public buildings, and as the heads to 
banner staves. The city king is the only one whom the traders meet, 
but there is another royal autocrat who rules the country districts, who 
regulates tillage and commerce. He is called the “bush king,” and has 
a palace about six miles from the palace of the city king in Abomey. 

The skeptic who smiles when told that there are people who believe 
in a Supreme Deity, and yet who bow down in worship to the snake, 
would shudder and grow sick at heart could he but visit some Dahomey 


DAHOMEY. 


^59 


town ; for it is usually provided with a house, which is centrally located, 
and in which sacred reptiles dwell. They are in charge of a priest who 
feeds them and guards them tenderly and carries them about with him. 
If a person is suspected of witchcraft or other crime the priest is sum¬ 
moned with his charges; the guilt of the suspected party is determined 
by whether or not he is bitten by the writhing monsters. In this, as in 
other ordeals, the fetich man undoubtedly holds the reputation, the life 
and the death of the “defendant” in his own hands. If a reptile escape 
from his house, the people first prostrate themselves before him and then 
carefully bear him back, even at the expense of their lives. To kill or 
to injure one of them is a capital offense. The origin of this hideous 
form of worship is found in their belief that although there is a Supreme 
Deity, he must be reached and propitiated through the minor gods. 
The most important of the minor deities is the snake-god, who has i,ooo 
snake wives. The tree-gods, of whom the “poison tree” is the most 
|)owerful, have also a like number of help-mates. The sea-gods are rep¬ 
resented by a high priest at the seaport of Whydah. This individual 
ranks as a king and has 500 human wives. The immediate agents of the 
sea-gods are the sharks, who snap up the sacrificial victim as he is cast 
into the water. Sharks are therefore sacred. When a person has been 
killed by lightning it is not lawful to bury him — he is the victim of the 
thunder-gods. The dead body is placed on a platform and cut up by 
women who hold pieces of flesh in their mouths and pretend to eat them. 
Idiis is supposed to intensify their power as fetich women, and nearly 
one-fourth of all the females in Dahomey belong to this order. 

There was a time, and that not a century ago, when the king of 
Dahomey was lord of the coast of Guinea. But the desolating wars 
which he has waged to keep up the supply skulls for his court-yards 
and temples, for his national fetiches, for his periodical and ancestral 
sacrifices; to fill his coffers with tribute money and to collect wives for 
sale ; the slaughter of his own people whom he charges with crime, 
reduces to servitude and sacrifices to the gods ; the death of thousands 
of wives who must follow the king to his grave and the hereafter; the 
fiendish raids upon native tribes for hundreds of miles around to supply 
the demands of the slave trade ; the decline of this, his most profitable 
traffic; and finally the ruinous system of taxation which he imposes 
'—all of these things have combined to impoverish the surrounding 
country and reduce almost to impotency the internal organization of 
the kingdom. Tracts which were formerly cultivated are now a desert, 
and the population is but a fraction of what the territory might 
support. 



A NATIVE REPUBLIC. 


I 6 o 


A NATIVE REPUBLIC. 

Between Dahomey and the Niger there are two loosely-jointed 
negro kingdoms which were the powers of the coast before Ashanti 
and Dahomey acquired the ascendancy. Yoruba was ruptured by an 
invasion of the Foulahs about sixty years ago, but still contains more 
populous cities than any other one kingdom of Western Africa. The 
Yorubas are an industrious race of people, with clear, brown complexions 
and rather incline toward the European cast of features. Many of them 
are good mechanics. Palm oil is their principal article of export, which 
they exchange for powder, brandy and European fabrics. In the eastern 
and northern portions of the kingdom, the Eoulahs are in the ascendant, 
but the southern and western parts are in the hands of native tribes. 
The manner in which they consolidated and formed a government of their 
own, evinces an independent spirit which is rare. Not only was their 
kingdom conquered by the Foulahs, but their tribes were being 
continually decimated by slave hunters. The remnants of the 
country, the discouraged and intimidated inhabitants of many 
towns, finally abandoned their territory and took refuge in an immense 
cavern near the banks of the Niger, about seventy-five miles from the 
coast. At first they did not venture far beyond their hiding place, but 
collected berries and roots and dwelt in their cavernous home. As they 
increased in numbers, however, they built houses, engaged in agriculture 
and other industries, formed a government, and named their town or 
colony Abeokuta, or ‘‘ Under-Stone,” in remembrance O. the great stone 
roof which had sheltered them in the time of their misery 2nd weakness. 
The founding of Abeokuta was as much a protest agcxinst the enormities 
of the slave trade as Sierra Leone or Liberia; and it was a more remark¬ 
able protest, as coming from “home talent,” unprotected and unpatron¬ 
ized by any Western Power. The city received accessions from Sierra 
Leone, even. Slaves who had been recaptured and placed under the 
protection of the British flag preferred to sojourn in the rich and power¬ 
ful city of Abeokuta. At one time its population is said to have num¬ 
bered nearly one hundred thousand souls, and its people were spread¬ 
ing over to the coast and to the west. Such prosperity was so distasteful 
to the slave-power, Dahomey, that its brutal king determined to destroy 
the city and reduce its inhabitants to bondage. But the Abeokutans 
became aware of his designs and before he had set his large army in 
motion, they had been so trained under the leadership of an American 
missionary, that when it appeared it was driven from the walls, despite 
the frantic assault of the king and his Amazonian soldiers. The king 


THE STATES OF SUDAN, 


I 6l 

himself was nearly captured, and his defeat seriously imperiled the exist¬ 
ence of his kingdom. riius Abeokuta became the capital of the native 
kingdom of Yoruba. It is still so considered, although the kingdom 
itself is little more than a collection of independent communities, which 
form a close union only in times of war. 

“ Benin ” was the name formerly applied to the whole coast of 
Guinea, and the kingdom ruled over many tribes. It is now chiefly 
noted for what it has been,” the kingdom being an unimportant factor 
even in native commerce, notwithstanding its population is dense. Its 
king is worshiped as a fetich. 

THE STATES OF SUDAN. 

This vast country has for many centuries been the battle-ground of 
the Arabs, the Moors, the PAulahs, the Mandingoes and the Berbers. 
It is rich in cotton, tobacco, indigo, wheat, rice, maize, gold-dust and 
iron. Ivory and ostrich feathers are also largely exported. The com¬ 
mercial races of Africa have therefore concentrated much of their energy 
upon this valuable expanse of land, and where they have found it possible 
to absorb a native tribe or wrest a tract of country from one another, they 
have not hesitated to do so. Remnants of the great Fellatah Empire are 
scattered over the country in the shape of independent states governed 
by native chiefs, but each is so powerless that he is unable to maintain 
himself against any combination of his rivals. The result is that, especi¬ 
ally in Western and Central Sudan, the Foulahs and Mandingoes are 
called upon to settle all disputes, and besides being numerically in the 
majority are so superior, intellectually, that these portions of Soudan 
may be said to belong to them. They are both the commercial and 
political powers, and with the Moors, have founded many towns which 
do not even make a pretense of being subject to any native jurisdiction. 
Bambara and Borgu, west of the Niger river, have nominal monarchs, 
but are thus under the dominion of these energetic races. They carry 
on an active trade, the Mandingoes principally exj)orting ivory by way 
of the coast, and the Moors dealing in gold and slaves through the great 
Sahara Desert. The Touaricks, or Berbers of the desert, obtain their 
share of the riches of Sudan by constantly swooping down upon the 
border states, and exacting tribute from them, or by attacking the 
richly laden caravans which wend their way across the Sahara sands 
toward the Barbary states. The pivotal point of their plundering opera¬ 
tions has always been Timbuctoo, which is situated on the great north¬ 
western bend of the Niger, and the center of this immense trade. To 

II 


i 62 


THE STATES OF SUDAN. 


protect the caravans, which make Timbuctoo the commercial mart oi 
Western Africa, the city pays an immense annual tribute to these robbers 
who were driven by the Arabs from their Mediterranean homes, and 
continually seek to avenge themselves upon the race which expelled but 
never conquered them. 

In Eastern Sudan the Arabs seem to be the dominant race. Three 
or four centuries ago, when Timbuctoo was the center of a vast empire, 
with seven kingdoms dependent upon it, this fiery people ruled the 
whole country. Since the rise of the Foulahs and Mandingoes as a 
political power, they have been confined to Eastern Sudan. Here, in 
the vicinity of Lake Tchad, is to be seen a wreck of their former might 
in the “Empire of Bornoo.” This name has a very large “sound,” and 
in the days of its glory meant Eastern, Southern and Central Sudan ; 
to-day it signifies a small state, somewhat stronger than the weak ones 
which surround it. Most of the inhabitants are called Bornoose or 
Kanowry. They are genuine negroes, peaceable and lazy as when the 
Arabs conquered their kingdom. The government is nominally vested 
in a native sultan, but really is in the hands of the Arab sheik. The 
sultan is surrounded by a bodyguard of nobles and chiefs, clad in the 
most grotesque garb ; the military of the empire to the strength of 30,- 
000, and consisting mostly of cavalry, is at the beck and call of the sheik. 
The troops are armed with huge spears, and both men and horses are 
clad in armor. 

The Begharmis are a powerful negro tribe to the east of Bornoo, 
who engage the cavalry of their neighbors in thicker iron armor than 
their enemies are able to don. They have a sultan who has several petty 
states tributary to him. At last accounts Begharmi acknowledged the 
supremacy of Bornoo, although the following correspondence lately 
passed between the Mohammedan sheik and the pagan sultan, upon 
the occasion of a rebellion from his authority by the Begharmis. Halt¬ 
ing his army about half a mile from the capital of his enemy, the ruler 
of Bornoo sent the following: “ Ruler of Begharmi, deliver up your 
country, your riches, your people and your slaves to the beloved of God, 
without reluctance on your part; for if you do not suffer him quietly 
and peaceably to take possession of your kingdom, he will shed your 
blood and the blood of your household ; no one shall be left alive ; while 
your people he will bind with fetters of iron to be his slaves and bonds¬ 
men, forever: God having so spoken by the mouth of Mohammed.” 
The reply: “The sultan of Begharmi does not know you or your 
prophet; he laughs your boastings to scorn and despises your impotent 
threats. Go back to your country and live in peace with your people ; 


THE STATES OF SUDAN. 


163 

for if you persist in the foolish attempt to invade his dominions, you 
will surely fall by his hands; your slaves shall be his slaves, and your 
people his people. Your chiefs and warriors and mighty men will be 
slaughtered without mercy, and their blood shall be sprinkled on the 
walls of his town ; even your priests and princes shall be thrust through 
with spears and their bodies cast into the woods to be devoured by 
lions and birds of prey.” Mohammedanism has been introduced among 
the Begharmi, but they are still pagans as a people. Physically they 
area fine race; their women being especially handsome. The men, 
however, are subject to a peculiar disease in the little toe, which eats it 
away. The disease is supposed to be caused by a worm, and it is said 
that one in every ten of the male population has lost his little toe. 








SCENE IN SUDAN. 








































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































THE BERBERS. 


THE TOUARICKS. 

RI\^EN from “ pillar to post;” scourged by the Phoenicians, 
Romans, \ andals and Arabs ; crowded from their fertile ter¬ 
ritories alonor the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlas Mountains 
and the great Sahara desert—is it to be much wondered at 
that the Berbers of Northern Africa are suspicious, cruel and 
treacherous, and that many of them, as the Touaricks, are 
robbers by trade, whose hands are against every man ? Is it 
to be wondered at that they, especially the settled Berbers 
near the mountains, are a proud people ? They have seen the 
ships of Phoenicia rotting for centuries, and the great Roman 
fortresses which were thrown alontr the Atlas ranores have crumbled into 



ruins, while they are still a distinct people with a government of their 
own. They call themselves “Amazirghs” (noble or freemen), and 
although they are but a shred of their former selves, they have still as 
distinct an existence as when the Vandals had swarmed over into 
Europe and were hovering over the decaying carcass of Rome. The 
Arabs have spread themselves over Northern and Eastern Africa, mix¬ 
ing with negroes, Egyptians, Abyssinians, Gallas, Caffres and Mada¬ 
gascans; but the Berbers have kept their blood pure and are proud of 
it, though they have nothing to show but a few villages, sundry herds 
of sheep and cattle, some fertile land and fine fruit trees, water mills 
and oil presses, imperfectly developed mines of iron and lead, rude 
agricultural implements, swords, guns and powder (their own make), 
some horses and a motley collection of plunder, comprising all the prod¬ 
ucts of Africa. Why they are called Berbers is a somewhat mooted 
question; some say from their word “berberat,” which expresses the 
murmuring sound which runs as a common harmony through all their 
dialects; others from “ Ber,” one of the shepherd kings of Egypt, from 


165 






























i66 


THE BERBERS. 


whom some of the tribes trace their origin. That branch of the Berber 
family which has firmly planted itself near the Atlas Mountains, south 
of Morocco, is believed to be identical with the ancient Numidians, who 
were mature in their strength when the Carthaginians were in their 
infancy, and whose empire included a part of Tunis, Algiers and Beled 
El-Jerid. The latter country, or the “land of dates,” is a narrow strip 
of sterile land, sprinkled with oases, and stretching along the borders of 
the desert from Morocco to Tripoli. The Lybians have been identified 
in distinct tribes of Berbers, who have settled in a chain of oases near 
the Touarick’s country; while the Touaricks themselves, in the moun¬ 
tains and desert south of Algiers, are believed to be the Northern Gae- 
tuli of Pliny and Ptolemy. Though this vast stretch of country may 
be called their rendezvous, their home is the Great Desert. They 
claim that no one is so well acquainted with its natural features as 
they; that it is not so destitute of water as the ignorant generally 
suppose; that they can detect water in the most sandy districts 
by boring into the soil with their long lances. By slightly lifting 
the points and allowing them to remain in the holes, a little moist¬ 
ure will have collected at the bottom if the survey has been success¬ 
ful. The Touaricks have their well districts in every portion of the 
great Sahara desert, so that they can dig for water as they require it, 
and then cover up all traces of their discovery. To reveal this secret to 
any foreigner is punishable by death — thus has their king decreed. 
Many of these robber nomads camp in small leathern tents which are 
peculiar to them. They seem to be made of the untanned hides of 
goats or antelopes. 

The Touarick’s bulwark of strength as a successful robber is in his 
great white dromedary, which is as peculiar to him as his tent. Its 
head is small, its hair fine, its limbs as long as a greyhound’s, and its 
chest as deep as that of a thoroughbred race horse. In fact it is the 
swiftest of its kind, and the Touarick is as proud of his “ mahari ” as the 
Arabian or Galla is of his steed. The mode of training this noble 

o 

war-horse of the desert is kept as close a mystery as the existence of the 
well districts ; but it is as docile as a dog, obeying the voice but being 
guided by a bridle. The saddle is placed on the neck and shoulders, 
and is shaped like a chair with a high back, with a peak in front around 
which the rider crosses his legs. Then over the desert he rushes, the 
mahari going at a swinging trot from sunrise to sunset, covering with 
ease eighty miles a day. The Touarick’s long tuft of hair streams out 
from under his high red fez cap, and his blue sleeveless cloak, with the 
rapid motion, puffs out behind him. He has on cotton trousers coming 



kEPUBLlC OF THE SEVEN CITIES. 


167 

down to the ankles and, if he is well off in the world, wears no shoes; 
for he maintains that it is only those who are too poor to ride who need 
to protect their feet. Over his trousers he wears a loose robe of black 
cotton, which, with his nether garments, are confined by a broad leather 
girdle. The blue cloak goes over this. There is a black turban around 
his red fez cap, and one end of the folds is brought over the face and 
fastened with an ivory pin, so as to expose only the eyes. Even in 
eating, this black veil is never removed, but held from the mouth by the 
left hand. To expose the face is considered a degradation. The women 
are never veiled. Although the Touarick evidently thinks she is not 
thus degraded, he seems, on the whole, to treat his wife with considera¬ 
tion, and his life is remarkably free from vice. The common weapons 
are a lance seven feet in length, and a large, straight, double-edged 
sword slung over the left shoulder. A short dagger is sometimes worn 
in the girdle. To bear fire-arms is the privilege of only the wealthiest 
chiefs. Besides the weapons aforementioned, the rank and file carry on 
the left arm a round shield made of elephant hide, stretched on a wooden 
hoop and studded with large-headed nails. Thus towering above the 
horseman on the highest of steeds, the Touarick robbers, as they swoop 
down upon the caravan, are dreaded foes. They seldom kill, however, 
except in self-defense. In appearance the Touarick is of a dark-brown 
complexion, tall and slender-limbed, with thin lips, aquiline nose and 
remarkably small hands and feet. The language of the Touarick is 
stated, on good authority, to be the purest existing dialect of the Ber¬ 
ber family, it being quite unintelligible co the Kabyles, the Berbers of 
the Atlas Mountains, or to the inhabitants of the oases who have set¬ 
tled between the Touaricks and the mountains. They are not pagans; 
neither are they strict Mohammedans. They are lax in the observance 
of forms, but seem, all in all, despite their loose ideas of property, to be 
moral, straightforward and fearless. 

REPUBLIC OE THE SEVEN CITIES. 

North of the Touaricks, in Beled El-Jerid, is the Republic of the 
Seven Cities of the Mozabites. Their own tradition is that their founder 
was named Messab, the fourteenth in succession from Noalx They were 
driven from the northeastern shores of the Red Sea, remained for sev¬ 
eral generations in Upper Egypt, when they emigrated to the shores of 
the Mediterranean, the main body settling on the frontier of Morocco 
and Algiers. A portion of the race settled on a small island between 
'Tunis and Tripoli, where they still remain. They remained for several 


REPUBLIC OF THE SEVEN CITIES. 


168 

generations on the Morocco frontier under the rule of the king being, 
at that time, Christians. About 777 a.d., having by this time also inter¬ 
mingled considerably with the aboriginal Berbers, they adopted a form 
of Mohammedanism from a Persian priest who settled in their metropolis, 
which was located in the modern province of Ovan, Northwestern 
Algeria. Their Berber neighbors who belonged to another and a 
stricter sect, drove them from the country in which they had resided for 
two centuries; but establishing several artificial oases further to the 
south, they founded a new state in company with the aboriginal inhab¬ 
itants who were settled at Wareola. The religion of the Mozabites was 
also a cause of offense to the Wareglas, and the immigrants were so 
harassed that they sent out scouts to spy out another land in which they 
could dwell in peace. This they found still far to the south, and in a 
rugged, mountainous region surrounded by the Algerian desert of the 
Great Sahara, secure from the attacks of the Arab and Touarick cav¬ 
alry, they have dwelt for nearly 900 years, irrigating their land and draw¬ 
ing from it the necessities of life, building houses and cities and found- 
ing their snug little republic. They afterwards extended their republic 
both to the north and the southwest. 

The Mozabites hold the Jews in as great contempt as they are held 
by the Arabs, and where the Hebrews have settled in the cities of their 
republic they are strictly confined to their own quarters. The great 
cause of this animosity is found in the assertion which the Jews have 
made for ages, that the Mozabites are the Moabites who conquered 
Israel and were conquered, in turn, by the Babylonians whom they 
assisted to subdue Palestine, who were worshipers of Baal — both the 
religious and national enemies of the Hebrew people — a portion of 
whom emigrated to the west, and with the other idolatrous foes of the 
Jews, the Ammonites, disappeared for a time from the light of history. 
Among the coast tribes of Zanzibar, also, there is a numerous people 
called the “ Weled Hammam,” whom the Jews assert to be the children 
of Ammon. It has been a custom of the Mozabites, for several ao-es 
after performing the pilgrimage to Mecca, to go to this country in order 
to visit their acknowledged brethren. But although the feud between 
the J ew and the Mozabite stretches back, indefinitely, the Hebrew is a 
useful member of the industrious republic, being a skillful worker of 
metals and a merchant. 

Most of the cities of the republic have been built on bold emi¬ 
nences, the houses of the inhabitants being mostly of mud. The walls 
and gateways of the towns and the structure of their parliament houses 
and other public buildings are decidedly Egyptian in style. After the 




REPUBLIC OF THE SEVEN CITIES. 


169 


fashion of the Egyptian temples the porticos of their mosques and tow¬ 
ers lean inward, and their marabouts, or great buildings in which are the 
tombs of their dead, instead of having their tops domed as among the 
Arabs, are brought to a point. All the graves are covered with urns, and 
many of them have a ram’s horn stuck upright in the neck. This latter 
peculiarity seems certainly to point to them as worshipers of Ammon 
(who is represented as a human being with a ram’s head) whose greatest 
temple was in Thebes, and from which country they claim to have emi¬ 
grated. Whatever may have been their former religion, they are now 
known as the fifth sect of Mohammedans and treated as schismatics. 
When they are abroad and worship in the regular mosque of Islam, they 
are separated from the true followers as though tainted with leprosy. 
Every species of luxury is forbidden among them, tobacco, snuff and 
coffee being banished. I'hey have a distinct priesthood, but scorn a 
dervish. The priesthood elect the sheik, who is president of the repub¬ 
lic. Each city or republic is under the government of a popular assem¬ 
bly, which consists of from four to twelve members, according to the 
number of families in the district. The Mozabites have only one paid 
official in their government, he being a negro who is paid to execute 
orders and to see that strangers are properly entertained. The people 
are hospitable and generous — within bounds. They are lovers of home 
and they guard their houses with the utmost care. No man ever goes 
abroad without a ponderous polished key or brace of keys in his hand. 
In default of iron he uses a yard of wood, his wives being safely locked 
up at home. They delight in music with all their austerity, and from 
their seven cities the tones of the pipe, tom-tom and zickar are inces¬ 
santly arising and mingling with the echoes of the drum. They are 
peaceable, reserved to strangers, honest in their commercial dealings and 
truthful in their conversation. 

Any immorality is punished by the assembly, presided over by the 
priest. The man is first warned of his fault, and if he persists in it, 
sentence is passed upon him incapacitating him from entering the 
mosques or voting in the civil elections; otherwise any man may cast his 
vote who has a house and establishment of his own. The offender 
against virtue can be restored to his religious and political privileges 
only upon proof of hi.s. repentance and good behavior. If he repents, 
the nails of his fingers and toes are pared very close. He Is shaved, 
rubbed all over with warm grease and washed from head to feet. With 
his hands crossed over his breast, the penitent then presents himself 
before the assembly and exclaims: “ I am one of the children of Gocl 

and of the children who repent.” The priest thereupon reads a chapter 



170 


REPUBLIC OF THE SEVEN CITIES. 


of the Koran and absolves him. Punishment by death is unknown to 
the laws of the Mozabites, perpetual banishment being the heaviest pen¬ 
alty recognized. To the average native this punishment is severe 
enough, for although most of the young men go abroad upon commer- 
^al enterprises, traveling at times for years without returning perma¬ 
nently to their desert homes, their aim is, when age comes upon them, 
to be able to live and die within the domain of the peaceful republic; If 
a citizen finds himself in distress, his natural heirs or his clan are bound 
to support him ; begging is a crime. If a man dies without heirs, his 
property is divided by the state. Should a citizen not be able or willing 
to respond to the demands of the government upon him for work upon 
the city walls, wells or aqueducts, he may deposit, in lieu of his labor, 
a certain sum in the money chest of the mosque. Taxation is levied 
upon houses, gardens, palrn trees and camels, every man who pays a 
house tax being exempt on six palm trees and six camels. 

In every city of the Barbary States, this industrious well-governed 
people are found, usually formed into societies or guilds, in which each 
member is responsible for the debts and good behavior of all the rest. 
When at home the principal occupations of the people are the cultiva¬ 
tion of their gardens and weaving. Their towns are usually perched on 
the steep side of a rocky eminence, behind which, in a ravine or artificial 
oasis, are the gardens of the villages. The walls which surround them 
are of stone, plastered with mud-colored lime, and are strengthened with 
four towers on each side. On each side of a town commonly appears a 
cemetery, the graves being cut from solid rock. Near one of their most 
ancient cities is a vast cemetery in which is a tomb building containing 
the remains of 27,000 human beings, respected citizens of the kingdom 
and republic, whose lives stretch over a thousand years of time ! But 
we started to say something about their industry and modes of cultiva¬ 
tion ; then we shall see how they look, take a stroll over their seven 
cities, and depart for another community of peculiar people, as distinct a 
race as they. The soil is all artificial, vegetable and animal contributing 
to its slow formation. The city groves or gardens are hedged with palm 
trees. At the foot of each palm is a trench to hold water, which is con¬ 
veyed to the soil by neat channels formed of hard lime, the land being 
divided into squares as it is in Egypt. Each garden is daily watered, 
and every inch of space is utilized, being sown to capsicums, pumpkins, 
carrots, turnips and barley. Vines are trellised from palm to palm, and 
fig trees, quinces and pomegranates give the stately hedge the beauty of 
their pale green. The plow by which the soil has been turned up is 
devoid of iron, being merely a long piece of wood sharpened at one end, 


REPUBLIC OF THE SEVEN CITIES. 


171 


to which are fastened two beams, one for drawing and the other for guid¬ 
ing. 1 he camel who furnishes the motive power is led by one boy and 
driven by another. Wheat is almost unknown in the republic, and the 
use of meat is confined to festivals. 

1 he Mozabites are expert dyers and tanners of morocco leather. 
They use the rind of the pomegranate for tanning purposes. After 
bleaching the wool with water mixed with the powder of a soft lime¬ 
stone, they use the roots of various desert plants for yellow, primrose 
and red dyes. 

The women do not appear much in public, spending most of their 
time on the tops of their houses. PTur of them are allowed one husband, 
at least one man is allowed to marry four wives. Their hair is twisted 
into a huge knot on each side of the forehead, and there is another knot 
behind on the left side. The whole arrangrement is fastened with larg^e 
gold or silver skewers, and powdered with red and white beads. On the 
right knot only they wear such ornaments as gold stars and coins. 
These ladies are very dark, and yet have red or black patches of paint 
on the forehead, and a black patch on the end of the nose. Rings, 
bracelets and anklets are plentifully worn. The men, however poverty- 
stricken, always wear a signet-ring of silver. More ornaments are some¬ 
times tolerated by the Jews, but otherwise there is no distinction in 
dress between them and the Moslems, except in place of the red fez 
under the turban they always wear a black ong. 

Each of the seven cities of the republic has a distinctive air and 
although the people are united, there is so much that is different in 
architecture, in local laws and customs as almost to leave the impression 
of a passing into another country. The military city of the confederacy 
is Beni Isguen. Surrounded by a double line of fortifications, it stands 
upon the side of a hill at the summit of which are the ruins of the first 
settlement of the Mozabites, made more than a thousand years ago. 
'Fhe space between the walls is covered with Arabian tents. This 
privilege is not even accorded the Jew; for the inhabitants of Beni 
Isguen boast that they are of the purest Mozabite blood, part of them 
having come from the Arabian shores of the Gulf of Bab-el-Mandeb, and 
the others from the Berbers of the mountains. None but members of 
these two clans are allowed to hold land. Every fortnight one hundred 
of the citizens are summoned to practice ball firing against the face of a 
rock. Their military faithfulness has worn it into a cave twelve feet deep, 
so that little of their ammunition is lost. Everything is ancient and 
impressive in this city, although its population does not exceed ten 
thousand ; it has two massive mosque towers, one for the upper and old 


172 


REPUBLIC OF THE SEVEN CITIES. 


town, and the other for the lower city. After pointing these out to the 
stranger, the Kadi (civil president of the corporation) will lead him 
proudly to the city’s register, in which, for nine hundred years, are 
recorded its chief events and the names of its distinguished visitors. 

The capital of the republic is Ghardaia, a city, as usual, founded 
on a rock,” its flat-roofed huts built in terraces, tier upon tier. A taller 
hill, on one side, is crowned by the oldest of the Mozabite fortified 
towns ; on the one hand loom the ruins of another ancient town. Enter¬ 
ing through the gateway, overshadowed by the square tower of a mosque, 
you are met by the “ mayor,” who is also president of the republic, and 
who carries in his hand three enormous keys with which he ushers you 
into the “ guest” house. This is apt to be a small windowless hut,with 
only the door through which you enter; upon the floor you find spread for 
your reception a long carpet of some thick material, a basket of dates, a 
dish of pomegranates, and perhaps a huge water-melon. The great cem¬ 
etery of the republic is located at the capital, and here is the immense, 
marabout, or tomb building, to which reference has been made. This 
hallowed ground is not only the scene of mourning, but of one of the 
most joyous, simple festivals which can be imagined. It is known as 
the “death-feast” of the founder of the Ghardaia. Once every year, in 
a large open space in the cemetery, the poor of the city gather to receive 
a bounteous feast from the hands of the rich. Underneath the open 
space is the grave of the man whose name is revered in so tender¬ 
hearted a manner. 

Trade is comparatively so brisk at the capital that quite a commer¬ 
cial atmosphere surrounds it. Windowless, one-story houses front the 
streets, and some of them have holes in the wall through which cotton 
cloaks, burnooses, handkerchiefs, etc., are sold. The market is an 
irregular space, surrounded by rows of venders with their wares on their 
knees on the ground, the buyers sitting beside them. A negro acts as 
auctioneer, having an assistant who carries the article to be sold around 
the square. Among other strange valuables disposed of is a large heap 
of date stones, which are cracked between stones, and fed to camels. The 
Jews are here allowed the freedom of the city, though they are confined 
to one quarter, where they work as jewelers, silversmiths, farriers, and 
blacksmiths. 

Mellika is the sacred city of the republic, which contains more 
mosques than its sister towns, more ruined houses outside the walls, 
more tumbled-down gates, and boasts a large cemetery in which are 
buried many of the republic’s revered founders. Beyond this is a city so 
small and jumbled together that it does not even have a house for the 


THE WA REG LAS. 


173 


entertainment of guests; it has seen better clays, however, for the top of 
the hill Is covered with a mass of ruins. El At’f has a double wall like 
the military city, and is the oldest city which stands upon its former site. 
You see again the same holes in the wall through which cottons and 
fruits are being vended. There Is also something which looks like a 
mass of loose sand. It is really a desert lichen and not considered bad 
eating by the hungry Touarick, though to any one who has a liking for 
the dainties of this life, it might just as well be a section of the Sahara for 
all the attraction it would have to him. The entire site of the city is 
polished rock, and its gardens are choked with sand—but the Mozabite 
Is proud of It, too, with Its white-washed houses, built of good stone, and 
its palm trees within instead of without the walls. 

Guerara, the seventh city of the Mozabite republic, wonderful to 
relate, occupies an almost level site, being situated in an Isolated oasis, 
and having little intercourse with the balance of the commonwealth, 
d'he houses stretch from both sides of the usual tower, and are of mud- 
brick and stone. Small eminences surround the town, each crowned by 
the tomb of a holy man ; this is a complete little house with many cham¬ 
bers, but all closed and dark, in which prayers are offered by the family 
on stated occasions. On the anniversary of his decease, the virtues of 
the departed are extolled and a largess doled out, as in the death feast 
we have described. 

THE WAREGLAS. 

A three days’ march from the Seven Cities brings one to the 
Wareglas, with whom it will be remembered the Mozabites attempted 
to form a union. As you approach their city the “ Peace be with you” 
which greets you on every hand makes you Imagine that you are among the 
faithful people of the Prophet. The people are of a different race from 
those among whom we have been living—very dark, often with a strong 
dash of neirro features ; the women with frizzed hair curled into cork- 
screws, plaited at the back and oramented like Nubians with red beads 
and gold coins. Instead of the long cord of camel’s hair worn around 
the fez by the Arabs, the Wareglas wear simple twist of fine grass 
matting. In other ways they show the independence befitting a people 
who claim to have founded the most ancient city in the Sahara. Although 
Waregla boasts that it has never voluntarily submitted to Dey or 
Porte, it was, at one time, unable to choose a native prince and called 
upon-the Emperor of Morocco for a ruler. He sent his son, who agreed 
to levy no taxes, but to be content with as many gardens as there were 
days in the year. The extravagance of the royal family induced the 



174 


THE WAREGLAS. 


Wareglas to stipulate that the sultan should receive a camel-load of dates 
for every one hundred trees of the 60,000 in their oasis. This generous 
provision, however, did not long keep the foreign ruler within bounds, 
and the indolent people therefore aroused themselves, and put into 
effect their prerogative of deposing the sultan at will. 4 heir resolve was 
delicately conveyed to him, as had been previously understood, by neglect¬ 
ing to furnish him a band of music at the time of morning prayer. The 
band did not play before his chamber door, and he retired to private life, 
only to give place to a powerful chieftain of the Southern Sahara, who 
agreed to protect the city against the raids of the Touaricks. These 
marauders have more than once attacked the place, and laid waste the 
gardens and palm groves which extend for several miles in all direc¬ 
tions. The trees are irrigated by salt water, which is said to be con¬ 
ducive to their fruitfulness. Beyond the gardens is a marsh swarming 
with wild duck and abounding with rank herbage. The city has a triple 
circuit of crumbling walls, the outer enclosing a wide space where cattle 
are driven in, camels loaded and unloaded, and caravans arranged. The 
middle walls are built of sun-dried brick. A forest of palms envelops 
the whole city. The mosques with their lofty, square towers again 
appear, but instead of the clear-cut features of the Mozabites, we are 
confronted with the broad nose and coarse mouth. There is a Jewish 
quarter in Waregla, also, given up almost entirely to the workers of 
metals. The Hebrews have their own streets, a separate municipal 
organization, and if they pay their taxes, may be greeted with the “ Peace 
be with you ” of the lax Wareglan, who seems to have forgotten that the 
salutation should only be given to the faithful Mohammedan. 







THE MALAYANS. 


ROM the southeast of Asia, in the dim past, there came a 
fierce, active race of men, driving the aborigines into the 
islands of the sea. First they crowded them into the interior 
and sometimes off the islands entirely. The race of Papuans 
finally concentrated themselves on the great island of New 
Guinea, from which the war-like Malayans were unable to drive 
them. This with the Philippines and a few small groups of 
islands in direct communication with New Guinea, or Papua, 
were virtually all that remained to the overwhelmed aborigi¬ 
nes. From Borneo and the Celebes Islands the hardy and 
enterprising conquerors shot out in all directions. Describing curves 
of thousands of miles, the race swung round the oceanic territory of the 
Papuans, when they could not break through it, until they had in their 
embrace nearly all the islands of the ocean from South America to 
Africa and from Australia to the Sandwich Islands. At quite an early 
day in their history of savage colonization there occurred a gigantic 
split or emigration. For fifteen hundred miles east of the Celebes 
Islands the Malayan language, both in its structure and traditions, shows 
many admixtures from the Indian or old Sanskrit. With the Samoan, 
or Tonga groups of islands which are then reached, commences to be 
heard both a distinct language and a new order of traditions. Physical 
development has also been progressing. The pure IVIalayan type shows 
a native of small stature; skin a copper brown, with a tint of yellow; 
straight, coarse and dark hair; long and broad head; protruding cheek 
bones ; flat nose and large nostrils; small eyelids, but not as narrow as 
those of the Mongolian ; large mouth, but the lips not puffed up ; black, 
but not brilliant eyes. Progressing eastward the body increases both in 
height and muscularity; the jaw, cheek-bones, mouth and nose are 
shaded more toward the European cast, and the hair does not tend toward 
the Papuan variety (which grows in tufts) but is inclined to be curly. 
We are now among the Polynesians—those tall athletic cannibals, and 

175 







































THE MALAYANS. 


176 

Christians, who are regarded as the purest remnants of the race which 
was crowded out of Asia by the more vigorous Aryans, and which, in 
turn, pushed the Papuans out into the broad Pacific and hemmed them 
round about in their island prisons. The Polynesian languages, there¬ 
fore, are among the most primitive forms of speech. As those gigantic 
“ South Sea Islanders,” the Polynesians, come up before us all, with theh 
black skins and their bluish black hair, divided from them by thou¬ 
sands of miles, their geographical as well as personal extremes are the 
Pdadagascans, who are a branch of the Malayans proper. 












?rT"' 


Ii* 5 > * • ^ 




c T5r: 

- ■ * ,' • 


•♦tIV 


'Ty*w 



«' . >7 


M r >'■■ 






' It. 






»» .4’: » < »..> 


» 



■/I, 


» - 


%. 


!%■ 


'- ■ - v.« 


■ V . T< 





i 


' 4 




.'V’ 


1. jr '.' , .•» . ■•■’-, > 7 •-• ' t. 

f-^ ? . -I'v 

U fei r . ■' -- *'■ 





. I- 




I- I • ♦ < 










<■. «■ 




« I 






- . -^V*-.-j, i 



.,*>? ’-!?«'''•- 

- ^ ^ .■ 




# I J. ■ 



o: 



. f "7. 


r^-'. . 


* *■ 

r . !/•» 

*’ t ' 

" - 7 ’' - ■ ‘-j ?^ 

’ ^ ■' f' i 

t ' J 
f '-j 




r*r 


k 


F- . • » 

**• f * ■ If • ^ -■'• 

• ■; y-.- ' r Jr.a.rM:y 

i-* .' '■■*' '. * . ’ ^ 

f^h M. 


; ^ * .. ■ % 




* * • 


, ' / ■■„ 



i 4 


V V 


♦ * 


'k' 7" ' ' ^>k• 

' ‘ ’ 1» ^ ^•'Vl 


.V 'v*'..-..';,V\ ■ jfe'^aa(ivj;( 

'* » 


in 


‘‘ , A 


C.- 


V>' 




,' ^'.. 




r 4^ /. 




I • 






f ,!■ 






" f, 


.^■. ■ »r- 


"Tij kNi 

^ 'Bl 






4 
















f 



THE MADAGASCAR MALAYANS. 


NLY two hundred and fifty miles from the African coast, oppo¬ 
site Mozambique, is a great island which it is natural to 
suppose would be peopled by the tribes of Africa; but with a 
few unimportant exceptions on their western coasts, the Afri¬ 
cans have never been navigators. Not even to escape the 
persecutions of war or the pressure of population, do they 
seem ever to have ventured far from the coast, but rather to 
have trusted themselves to the great unknown interior of their 
continent, when circumstances have forced them to “move 
on.” So that the two hundred and fifty miles lying between 
the continent of Africa and the great island of Madagascar have barred 
out the Ethiopians, and left the way open for an influx of population 
via the Indian Ocean. In what way and when the adventurous Malay 
found his home in this far-distant island, has been one of the problems 
which has most puzzled the ethnologist; but find him we do, with the 
speech, eyes, hair and features of his brethren so far to the east. 

THE TWO TRIBES. 

The MadaLmscans are divided into two distinct races, the black 
tribes inhabiting the western or African slope, and the olive-colored 
natives the eastern. Since the country came into view as a historic 
land, the great conflict has been between representative people from 
these races. Though the texture of their languages — even the names of 
towns, mountains and rivers, east and west— makes itclearly evident that 
they were originally united, their animosity has been implacable since 
the world has known anything of them. During the last century a 
black tribe called the Sakalavas held the fairer natives in subjection. 
They now hold the western and northern portions of the island, where, 
with their tall and robust frames, black crisped hair and dark eyes, they 
look with disdain upon the diminutive Hovas, with their soft hair and 
their hazel eyes. They call them “vagabonds,” and are perpetually 

12 177 


































ANCIENT HISTORY. 


178 

showing their contempt by carrying off their cattle and plundering their 
homesteads. But their fair-haired enemies, “vagabonds” though they 
be, have become the dominant race of the island by trusting to their 
intellectual force, combined with European weapons and tactics, instead 
of to personal bravery and physical strength. They respond to the 
Sakalavas by dubbing them “the tall cats,” both on account of their 
fierceness and great stature. The Hovas occupy only a central prov¬ 
ince of Madagascar, and the Sakalavas with other tribes of less strength 
are independent of their actual dominion. Their kingdom is called 
Imerina, and is united and powerful; all outside is confusion and disor¬ 
ganization. So that it has been customary to consider their government 
as that of the whole island. 

ANCIENT HISTORY. 

The Hovas are the only people of Madagascar who possess any 
traditions in regard to the aboriginal inhabitants of the island, whose 
ancestors they claim to be. It is from them that the supposition is 
drawn of a far more primitive people than they whom the ancient 
H ovas found dwelling in their present territory, about eight hundred 
years ago. This tribe they call Vazimba. The two tribes united to 
produce the Hovas of the present. Their traditions pictured the 
Vazimbas as of so heroic and godlike a cast that, when the Hovas were 
pagans, their ancestors were worshiped as gods, and even now, as Chris¬ 
tians, their tombs are among the most sacred objects in the country. 
After they had lived together for over a century, a quarrel arose, how¬ 
ever, which resulted in the Vazimbas being driven out of the country 
with the iron spears of the Hovas, which their wooden weapons were 
not able to resist. Their traditions have it that for five hundred years 
thereafter the Hovas continued to flourish. They built fortified towns. 
They had their tribal governments, their orators and their heroes, and 
neither Arab nor Portuguese knew of their continued growth into a 
united and powerful people. 

At the beginning of the eighteenth century one of their great chiefs 
(“ Andriamasinavalona”) by the power of his name and arms, brought 
every town under his sway. He also built embankments along the 
river Ikopa, which watered his province, to prevent the annual flooding 
of the great rice plain along its borders, which was, withal, a source of 
much wealth to the kingdom. The cultivation of rice was extended, 
the smelting of iron and the manufacture of cloths were encouraged, 
and, later, the thin spear and round hide shield gave way to the musket 
and cannon. The ruder tribes became subject to the Hovas. 


ANCIENT HISTORY. 


179 


A king ascended the throne who was a Madagascan of the old 
school; who sat on the floor and ate with his hands out of a silver dish, 
who worshiped idols and who believed in divination with the help of 
beans, rice, straw and sand; but this kinor abolished the slave trade in 

o 

his dominions, in return for the privilege of being supplied with British 
arms and British officers, and became master of the island. The native 
language was reduced to writing and thousands of the people learned to 
read and write. European blacksmiths instructed those of Madagascar. 
Infanticide was abolished, and other cruel customs of paganism. 

A pagan queen ruled over the Hovas, and destroyed all the good 
work which had been accomplished. Persecutions of the Christians and 
of civilization followed ; thousands of persons were massacred, and sub¬ 
jected to most horrible forms of death. Other rulers came, some good 
and some bad, but the advance was sure, until with the accession of the 
present ruler, an enlightened woman, the firm foundation of a progress¬ 
ive state seems to be laid. 

MADAGASCAN SLAVERY. 

Although slavery has been abolished in so far as that the natives 
are not sold and exported, it still exists in various forms under the 
generally intelligent reign of the queen. The descendants of prisoners 
of war are still slaves. There are slaves who have placed themselves in 
servitude on account of debts ; and in Madagascar slavery is not only 
imposed upon the criminal, but extends to his wives and children. In 
the service of the queen, as of her predecessors, are also a class of 
workmen who are slaves, to all intents and purposes, although not so in 
name. In the great forests are hundreds of woodcutters, felling timber 
for government purposes, who receive no pay, and yet toil there all 
their lives and rear their families in darkness and privation. Their 
boys follow in their footsteps and their girls are given in marriage to 
other woodcutters, who drag out the same monotonous existence, their 
only privilege being to cultivate enough land to keep body and soul 
together. A certain quota of artisans, such as workers in iron, gun¬ 
smiths, spearmakers and carpenters are also bound in perpetual serfdom 
to the government. Such arrangements as these bring the expendi¬ 
tures of the government down to a very low figure. 

THE GOVERNMENT. 

The queen s advisers in the government are a prime minister, 
commander-in-chief, and a chief secretary of state. The ofiices of 


i8o 


THE TRIBES AND THEIR CHIEFS. 


prime minister and commander-in-chief are sometimes held by the same 
individual. A certain noble family called Rainiharo has for several 
generations retained the confidence of both the queen and her prede¬ 
cessors. Its members have invariably thrown their great influence 
against heathenism, in favor of a constitutional monarchy, and have 
placed several rulers upon the throne. Measures of state are discussed 
by the queen with her immediate council, old and honored officers of 
the army, and a unique domestic cabinet called the “ Twelve Wives.” 
Every king is authorized to have that number of mates, because twelve 
is a cabalistic number with the Madagascan. He has his twelve sacred 
cities, and what better evidence of its power is required ? This inner 
council is not supposed to have much influence, since all these ancient 
superstitions are on the wane, but the relic may be retained as a conven¬ 
ient method of keeping the first ladies of the land in good humor. 
There are several noteworthy instances, however, which go to show that 
the queen is a believer in the political and civil ability of her sex. 
F'emale chiefs have frequently been greatly honored by her, being 
entitled to the highest rank in the government, and on the east coast a 

O O' 

Betsimasaraka princess was, for many years, one of her most trusted 
counsellors. 

THE TRIBES AND THEIR CHIEES. 

Although the Hovas and their subject tribes acknowledge a central 
government in the queen and her cabinet, they are still a federation. 
At the head of each tribe are the nobility, who are descended from the 
great chiefs of former ages, and the common people are enrolled as their 
followers rather than the subjects of the queen. Taxes are levied bv 
these chiefs, but they are paid in service or in rice, sugar-cane, lambas, 
fire-wood, beams for building, bundles of thatch, stones, pork, beef, etc. 
If the Malagassy had a currency this awkward form of payment would 
not be necessary. In their larger towns the Erench five-franc piece is 
used and chopped up into smaller pieces, as required, every household 
as well as shop having its weights and measures. 

Upon a message from the queen asking for some special service, 
the tribes meet and decide upon the details. When any great question 
agitates the kingdom, the tribes meet and express themselves freely, 
before the queen renders her judgment. 

DEGRADING THE COURT. 

The judges are chosen from the nobility, and hear complaints and 
examine criminals in open market or close to some public road. The 


THE TRIBES AND THEIR CHIEFS. 


l8l 


strange custom of thus exposing the judicial dignity to the gaze of the 
masses is reported to have originated from the fact that once upon a 
time, not many years ago, a great king of the Hovas passed a house 
wherein the judges were assembled, and they neglected to arise and pay 
him the usual homage. It was thereupon decreed that the house should 
be razed, and the judges thereafter hold their court in the open air, 
where they could see and be seen. So now they sit upon a bank of 
earth, or a pile of stone, with principals, witnesses and spectators crowd¬ 
ing around. They write their depositions upon the knee ; but their 
duties are lightened in other respects, for no advocates are employed, 
the principals being their own lawyers. In difficult cases the judges 
retire to deliberate ; but the bulk of their business is transacted accord¬ 
ing to the royal mandate. 

Formerly the poison ordeal was employed in criminal cases to 
determine the verdict, or, in minor cases, two fowls or dogs representing 
plaintiff and defendant were pitted against each other. Trial by a jury 
of twelve is a provision of the constitution, but seems a dead letter. 

Under the judges are the revenue officials of the country, who 
collect the rice and other productions which fall to the queen in place 
of taxes and government fines, besides taking charge of all the revenues 
which are covered into the royal treasury for the running expenses of 
the state. Another class of civil officers are the royal couriers, who send 
messages from the government to the head men of the villages on public 
business, and form a sort of constabulary in the preservation of the 
peace. Below them are the centurions, who have immediate oversight 
over one hundred,” who actually deliver the messages to the head men, 
or proclaim them to the people after the subjects have been brought to 
the great markets by the firing of a gun. The head men are appointed 
by the sovereign to preserve order in their residence villages, and to act 
as district representatives. 

The punishments inflicted for crimes seem to be the worst relic of 
barbarism allowed to exist under the Hovas’government. For political 
offenses, as for the non-payment of debts, not only is the person’s 
property confiscated, but himself and family are sold into slavery. Many 
crimes are punishable by death. The criminal may be thrown upon the 
ground, and spears be driven through his back, or he may be stoned, 
flogged or burned to death, crucified or thrown over a precipice. If he 
is a noble, it is deemed unlawful to shed his blood, and he may take his 
choice of beine smothered, starved or burned. 

In actual rank, the nobles or judges, come next to the royal family. 
Then come the officers of the army, who are divided into thirteen 


/ 


I 


182 CHRISTIAN PERSECUTIONS, 

grades, the field marshal being the highest. The policy pursued by 
many of the sovereigns of obtaining the most modern of military ideas 
has borne fruit in a large and well-disciplined army, but has had the evil 
effect of inclining the ruler of the kingdom much more to autocracy. 

THE QUEEN’S CAPITAL. 

In fact, situated as her kingdom and capital are, on a high table¬ 
land backed by noble hills and dense forests, with a large army at her 
command, she may well feel herself secure not only from domestic dis¬ 
turbance, but from an invasion of foreign enemies or outside tribes. 
Antananarivo is her capital, as it was the city of the Vazimbos. It is 
built upon a high ridge of land, having three elevations. Between two 
of them is the plain where the sovereigns have been crowned. On the 
highest point stands the palace of the queen. Upon a level piece of 
ground on another hill the laws of the kingdom are promulgated. 
Lower elevations than those upon which the capital is built are utilized 
as picturesque suburbs of the great city. 

CHRISTIAN PERSECUTIONS. 

A church now and then comes into view, while near It maybe steep 
and frowning cliffs, over which the martyrs were thrown when the 
heathen monarchs raged against the Christian missionaries, thinking 
that these foreigners not only came to destroy their gods, but to put in the 
places of their sacred ancestors the names of God and Jesus Christ. 
The proud memories resting upon the twelve sacred cities In which once 
resided the twelve revered kings of the ancient Vazimbos were to be 
obliterated ; and they were to no more cast their eyes from their lofty 
portals and with one sweep of their royal heads witness those ruins by 
which they swore, and which kept alive in their minds great and ambi¬ 
tious resolves. The rude mounds of earth and stone, in which were laid 
the bones of some Vazimba demigod, were no more to be used as altars 
by their subjects, but were to be looked upon as so many common heaps 
of refuse. Those sacred obelisks of stone, set up as memorials of the 
great chiefs of ancient times, were to be unhallowed. The three hills 
upon which dwelt three of their most famous Idols, through whose 
agencies they were to reach the Prince of Heaven, were to be leveled, 
figuratively speaking, and the kingdom torn from their embraces. 

A dozen miles to the north upon a bold ridge of rock, which rose 
from a great plain, their ancient capital, with the ancestral tombs and 
royal houses, appealed to these heathen monarchs to stamp out this new 


CHRISTIAN PERSECUTIONS. 


I ^^3 

force which threatened to tear up their hoary superstitions by the roots; 
and with the uprooting of the old would be destroyed much of the sanc¬ 
tity which hedged their own persons about. And horribly did they 
acquit themselves. Those of the nobility who had joined the new order 
of things were burned to death at the summit of the northern ridge of 
the capital hill, as it begins to slope toward the plain. 

A precipice frowns from the western side of the city. Toward this 
awful descent fifteen persons were carried, bound and gagged; a rope 
was firmly tied around the body of each, which was lowered a short 
distance down the cliff. Within a stone’s throw was the royal palace. 
A great multitude gathered on the adjacent elevations, with various 
emotions, awaiting to see the officer give the executioner the word of 
command to cut the rope with the knife which he held raised over it, 
and to witness the awful plunge and the sickening wreckage of 
humanity. 

But though the Christians were killed by hundreds, and banished by 
thousands, and driven to worship in rice pits or in those very tombs which 
they had been taught to believe were deified, the spark was kept alive 
which kindled into a flame under more auspicious reigns; and from the 
tolerance of one pagan queen sprang the fostering care of a Christian 
sovereign. So that to-day the spectacle is presented of a ruler who has 
cut away from the ancient superstitions of her people, has herself done 
most to eradicate the religion of her forefathers, and yet who seems 
firmly planted in the public confidence. 

BURNING OF THE IDOLS. 

The Sakalavas, and other tribes which have not embraced Chris¬ 
tianity, have as many strange superstitions and customs as the negroes 
of Africa. They have a supreme god, whom they call the Prince of 
Heaven, and various tutelary gods. Their two great Idols were lodged 
in common huts, there being no temples, and there were no priests 
except the men who had charge of them. The queen ordered these 
hideous monsters to be destroyed, when the pagans of the kingdom 
demanded that she return to her native faith. 

The long cane which preceded the chief Idol, Rakellmalaza, In the 
heathen processions was first cast Into the fire ; then the twelve bullocks’ 
horns which were used as sprinkling vessels ; the three scarlet umbrellas, 
the lamba which concealed the Idol when Its keeper was travelling with 
it, and the Idol’s case made of the trunk of a hollow tree—all these 
followed, the people standing around, awe-struck but quite silent until 



BURNING OF THE IDOLS. 


184 

the idol itself was revealed ! Upon which they exclaimed to the officer 
and his soldiers : “ You cannot burn him; he is a god ! ” Astounding it 

is that the idol-worshipers did not all abandon their faith when their eyes 
beheld what they had been revering as the Great Unknown ; for it con¬ 
sisted merely of a piece of wood, about four inches long, wrapped in two 
thicknesses of scarlet silk some three feet long and three inches wide. 
The other great idol which was made of three round pieces of wood, of 
about the same length, and bound to<:jether with a silver chain, sue- 
ceeded Rakelimalaza. He was called Ratsimahalahy—the names were 
enough to frighten any one. 

It is well that the idols were kept undercover; for the Madagascans 
have no talent as sculptors, their very idols prove their deficiency. With 
the Africans and races of the East, the reverse is the case, their hideous 
representations of powers which are only known to be quite awful and 
mysterious, serving to keep alive the most degarded of superstitions. 
Sometimes the pagan of Madagascar wears the rude figure of a bullock 
as a charm against evil, but that is tlie extent to which native art goes, 
d'his fortunate deficiency in the artistic nature of the Madagascan may 
account, in part, for his lack of cruelty in the manner of making his 
offerings. He conies as near being the worshiper of ideas, hideous and 
ridiculous though they may be, as an idolater possibly can. 

So far as the habits of the people are known, the natives of Mada¬ 
gascar, with'one minor exception, have never practiced human sacrifice. 
The “ saiiipy ” or household god has greater influence over the averao-e 
Madagascan than his larger or national god. Even this is usually 
a mere piece of wood, stone or glass, kept in a straw basket, and 
hung from the north wall of the house, near the bedstead. When the 
people wish to make an offering to the village god, it is brought from its 
house in the middle of the town, snugly laid away in its box, and the 
ceremonies are gone through with upon sacred stones, or the grave of a 
Vazimba, under the direction of the priest. Sometimes the keeper calls 
the people together and they wait around the idol-house until he has 
offered prayers and anointed the god with the oil of the castor-oil plant; 
after which the audience is considered to be blessed. 

PYrtunes are told and fortunate days are foretold by observing the 
phases of the moon. If a child should be born on an unlucky day, it is 
at once killed. Trial by ordeal, by taking a nauseating drink, is also 
practiced, as we have seen it among the negro tribes of Western Africa. 
Among the Hovas, however, the savage custom has disappeared. The 
step may be considered in the light of a measure taken to preserve the 
kingdom itself; for it was computed that by the ravages of the so-called 



BURNING OF THE IDOLS. 


185 

“tangena” a fiftieth part of its population had been killed ; that three 
thousand people were annually sacrified upon the altar of this all-pervad¬ 
ing superstition. 

THE BENEFIT OF ‘‘NO ROADS.” 

There probably never was a state whose natural defenses were so 
impregnable as this one of the Hovas. From the sea coast to their 
very capital, whether you advance from the north, south, east or west, 
the country consists of lofty terraces or natural fortifications. Dense 
forests also cover the land, and as if to make their position more secure, 
with all their advance in modern civilization, they have persistently refused 
to build passable roads from the coast to the interior. Mere paths run 
around noble hills, through valleys and woods, and skirt great rice 
swamps to the queen’s province ; yet they are wide enough to accomo¬ 
date the Tankays, who inhabit a plain which occupies the second ridge 
of terraces (when they are at home) ; but they have been conquered by 
the Hovas and brought into the service of transporting government 
goods to all points of the kingdom. 

rhe universal mode of personal conveyance is by the palanquin, 
which is a frame work borne on the shoulders of men, fixed up with 
various conveniences proportionate to the length of journey to be under¬ 
taken. The traveller is carried over the country at a brisk dog-trot, the 
bearers shifting their burden from one shoulder to the other without 
stopping, or taking an extra breath. As for horses in such a country, 
they would be useless, and with the exception of a few employed by the 
military at the capital upon the occasion of a review of troops, they 
may be said not to exist in Madagascar. A wheeled vehicle of any de¬ 
scription is also unknown. 

Thus Imerina is intrenched, suffering only an occasional attack of 
the Sakalavas upon her cattle who are in charge of the domestic slaves 
of the nobility, who pasture them in the rich valleys, lower hills and open 
plains below. 

WONDERFUL EMBANKMENTS. 

But the great bulwark of the Hovas, as a people, is their rice. Its 
tall green reeds cover hundreds of square miles along the rivers and 
streams, and from the broad fields spring countless pretty hamlets 
and villages. In many of the most fertile rice districts the land is 
divided into “hetia” or holdings, and the villages are perched thickly on 
the terraces of the hills above. 

A remarkable geological formation has been the means of retaining 


i86 


RICE CULTURE. 


the waters of the rivers which, 4,000 feet above the level of the sea, fer¬ 
tilize these vast tracts of country and sustain the lives of over a million 
people. If some barrier were not interposed they would rush with resist¬ 
less force toward the ocean, ploughing up the red clay hills into deep 
valleys and making level plains, loamy soil and vast fields of rice an 
impossibility. This natural dam is formed by a reef of hard gneiss, on 
the western side of Imerina, where the Ikopa river would otherwise leap 
unimpeded to the terraces and the ocean far below. Its waters are 
retained at a certain height, fertilizing the plains on either side, which 
were formed and held in their mountain fastnesses by the interposition 
of these adamant barriers. 

A similar reef of rocks stays the waters of two other streams which 
overlook the richest rice fields of Madagascar. This natural protection, 
in addition to the artificial embankments of the river Ikopa, constructed 
nearly 200 years ago by one of the energetic kings of Madagascar, has 
made the plain of Imerina what it is. Each side of the stream for many 
miles is skillfully inclosed, and through innumerable sluices its waters 
are conducted by canals to thousands of rice fields. The works would 
be creditable to a civil engineer of modern times, but so rapid is the cur¬ 
rent of the river during the rainy season that the greatest care is taken 
to detect any weakness in the embankments. The whole population of 
the plain are sometimes summoned at a moment’s notice to assist in 
stopping a gap and preserving their rice fields from inundation. 

RICE CULTURE. 

But it should not be imaorined for a moment that all the aericultu- 
rist has to do is to flood his field from the river and then turn upon the 
rich soil his herd of cattle, driving them round and round to mash it into 
soft mud — a very lazy kind of plowing for the benefit of the prolific 
rice plant. These terraces which we have seen descending in all direc¬ 
tions, from the kingdom of Imerina to the sea, although not watered 
directly by the streams and rivers, are clothed by the ingenuity of an 
industrious people with the fresh green of the young rice plant and the 
golden harvest of maturity; the streams and rivers are tapped, the 
waters are drawn from one level to another throuorh lone channels and 
spread upon hundreds of fields which would otherwise be mere pasture 
land over which herds of cattle would wander at will. The rice is usu¬ 
ally sown in the valleys, which run down to the plains, a series of ter¬ 
races being formed and so protected that the earth and seed will not be 
washed away. 



RICE CULTURE. 


When the plants are about six inches high, the business of trans¬ 
planting begins. All are engaged in this work—the slaves, male and 
female, in preparing the ground and bringing the plants, and the owner 
and his wife and family in superintending the operations. The young 
plants are tied in small bundles, and being brought to the rice fields in 
the plain, which have been Hooded to the depth of a few inches, they are 
fixed in soft soil, one by one, but with astonishing rapidity. When har¬ 
vest time comes the plains are yellow with grain, which is still growing in 
water, now kept standing to the depth of a foot or more. T he men wade 
into the water and cut the rice with large straight-bladed knives, after 
which they pile it into small canoes and bring it to dry land. There 
the women receive it, lay it out on the ground to dry and then thresh 
out the grain on large pieces of stone or a surface of prepared clay. 
After being further dried the rice is stored in a round pit dug in the 
hard clay soil. This has been the custom from time immemorial, and 
the consequence is that it is the height of folly for one not acquainted 
with the ground to commence to build upon a plain anywhere in the 
kingdom without first making a thorough search for concealed rice pits. 
Until the next planting comes round, the long-horned Madagascan cat¬ 
tle, with their camel-like humps, monopolize the fields. 

MADAGASCAR MARKETS. ' 

The manufactures, as they are exhibited at the markets, held in 
the towns of the provinces, are somewhat primitive, although in some 
districts cotton and silk are woven into handsome fabrics, and elegant 
carpets are made. As a rule they consist of lambas made of rofia fibre; 
coarse but strong iron spades, spade handles, timber rafters, clumsy 
window shutters with the hinge pin projecting above and below, wooden 
spoons, leaf plates, grass baskets and earthen plates, hinges, cocks, pin' 
cers, hatchets, choppers, hammers and trowels, all of native work. Boots 
and shoes are neatly made, but the sole-leather is badly tanned. 

A would-be purchaser of food at one of these markets would find 
that about the following scale of prices prevailed : Beef, two cents per 
pound ; pineapples, five for a cent; potatoes, twelve cents a bushel; 
eggs, a cent apiece ; a large turkey, eighteen cents ; a fat fowl, three 
cents ; a bushel of maize, five cents, and rice, nothing to speak of. Wages 
also are the same as rice; so that the cheapness of provisions cuts little 
figure in the poor Madagascan’s life. 

This market system is a prominent feature in the social life of the 
Madagascan. The markets are usually held weekly, but in the large 



A CONQUERED RICE PROVINCE. 


188 


towns do not frequently fall upon the same day, so that if the queen or 
governor, or any functionary or personage of lesser degree, has any mat¬ 
ter which he wishes to bring before the people, he makes proclamation 
in the market place. Here is the rendezvous of merchants, politicians, 
gossip-mongers, buyers and sellers, and it is a good place to see all 
grades of life. In the days of the persecutions those who were convicted 
of Christianity were exposed in chains every market day for months 
together as the surest way of heaping upon them the greatest torrent of 
abuse in the most public manner. At the capital and in the large towns 
the markets are divided into departments. From the timber or wood 
market can be selected every portion of a house from the framework or 
flooring of the more modern, to the rushes or bamboo used in the con¬ 
struction of huts. Then there are the provision stall and the manufac¬ 
turing department. 

A CONQUERED RICE PROVINCE. 

One of the rice swamps, which has become so justly celebrated, 
covers an area of over six. hundred square miles. This is in the pro 
vInce of Sihanaka, which has become subject to the Hovas, though the 
resistance was brave. It is a vast basin set down In the midst of high 
hills, having a clear lake and this immense rice field in the center. The 
Sihanakas made their last stand on an island in the lake, and though the 
king of the Hovas was armed with cannon and muskets, their defense 
was so determined and the rain fell In such torrents that, for the time, 
he abandoned the assault; or rather his soldiers fled, and the leader of 
the flight, acccmding to military custom, was burned to death. Pivi- 
dences yet remain. In the shape of old fortresses and the “ Prince’s 
d'own,” that the people were at one time warlike and independent. 

Although they have deserted their fortresses for the fertile plains, 
and enjoy their rice and gravy in security, one of their first inquiries of 
a stranger is in regard to the cannon which guards the stockade of the 
towns occupied by their H ova rulers. This people belong to the great 
tribe of Betsimasarakas, who inhabit the eastern portions of the island, 
and next to the Hovas are the fairest natives of Madagascar; but they 
are sadly addicted to rum, made from the sugar cane which they grow, 
and little sheds containing their stills are conspicuous deformities of the 
landscape. The larger towns of the people are laid out with great reg¬ 
ularity ; the houses, however, being built mostly of light wood and reeds, 
so that destructive fires are of frequent occurrence. Outside of many 
of them are large enclosures for the great cattle herds which abound in 


A CONQUERED RICE PROVINCE. 


189 

the districts. The houses are neat within, and are usually built on the 
same plan as are those of the Hovas. The Hova house has one post 
at each end and one in the center. It has a door and a window on the 
west side, and the bedstead is fixed in the northeast corner. In the 
northwest corner is the hearth, with a two-storied frame for the cookincT 

_ O 

pots. The house of the Betsimasarakas, on the other hand, has three 
carved posts in the center and one at each end; there are two doors on 
the west side and a window in the northeast ; the bedstead is in the 
southeast corner and the hearth and saucepan frame are fixed, immov¬ 
able, in the southwest. The floor also is nicely covered with mats. 

HOUSES AND CLOTHES. 

The majority of houses in the country are made of the bright red 
earth, which constitutes all of the rising ground, and sometimes of the 
blue and ochre-tinted soils found in the level rice plains. Large clay 
houses are often built by the wealthy classes, tinted with various colored 
earths, with verandas around them, windows and doors partly of glass, 
and the inside finished in hard wood, beautifully arranged as to color 
and pattern. The central room is lofty, and often has a light gallery 
running around it, giving access to the chambers at each end. 

The dwellinof houses of the better class of old-school Madagascans 
are built of wood and firmly joined together, although nails are not 
used. They are oblong and invariably placed north and south. They 
have verandas but no chimney places, although in the highlands fires 
are often required in the evening. The owner’s rank is indicated by 
ornamented poles at the gables, the roof being covered with rushes and 
rising to a ridiculous height. Little difference is made between the 
size of the window and the door; in fact, in the Malagasy language, the 
word is the same for both door and window. Among the Betsileos, who 
are a tribe to the south of the Hovas, but subject to them, the door 
sill is so high above the ground that a post is erected before it upon 
which the visitor must carefully mount and twist himself over. 

Once inside, he is made to feel at home; for the Madagascan is 
hospitable if nothing else. Whenever a stranger enters a village every 
one vies in generosity. One will bring him a mess of rice and grease, 
another a boiled fowl or a piece of beef, and still another may appear 
with a dish of cooked locusts or silkworm chrysales. If he is near the 
coast oysters will not even be denied him. But if he has wandered into 
the land of the Sakalavas, the “ tall cats,” he will have to content him¬ 
self with such a simple diet as maize, arrowroot, yams, and a few 


190 


THE QUEEN APPEARS. 


European vegetables. Should he be addicted to tobacco, he will dis¬ 
cover to his disgust that he will not be offered “a smoke,” except he fill 
his reed pipe with hemp ; but he will be invited to take into his mouth 
a disagreeable mixture of tobacco and herbs, which is used as snuff. 

Whether in the street or in the house, he will observe men, women 
• and children all wearing the lamba, or mantle. From the queen to the 
herdsman, it is a garment universally worn. It is thrown over the 

shoulders; with the men 
depending more to the left, 
and with the women to the 
right. 

The queen’s exclusive 
lamba is of scarlet broad¬ 
cloth. She alone, also, is 
allowed to sit under a scarlet 
umbrella. This latter seems 
to be a relic of the old days 
of superstition, when the 
Hovas believed that when 
their god, the king, was un¬ 
der his red umbrella, he was 
feeding upon air, which, in¬ 
deed,was the chief of his diet. 

The lamba characterizes 
the Madagascan, and its 
quality and dimensions vary 
with his circumstances. It 
may be of cotton, silk or 
broadcloth ; or, if he is a 
slave, it is made from the 
A MADAGASCAN LADY. bark of the banana tree. A 

large straw hat, with a black velvet band, is commonly worn by the 
men. The general style of the lady’s head-dress is to divide the hair 
into twenty or twenty-four sections, each of which, in turn, is divided 
into a number of tails which are plaited together and tied with a bow. 
The “court” costume, however, of both sexes has been English for some 
fifteen years, this being a regulation which the queen strongly urged. 

* THE OUEEN APPEARS. 

The life of the Madagascan is shown at its best in his intercourse 
with her majesty, of whom he is proud, notwithstanding her large stand- 



























THE QUEEN APPEARS. 


I9I 

ing army and her handsome palace and residence, for which he is 
obliged to pay. Her city guard are dressed in white and in native cos¬ 
tume. When she goes forth to visit one of her provinces—Betsileo, to 
the south, for instance — the regular troops are dressed in the red coats 
of the English infantry, with trousers having pink and white stripes, and 
with “ Brown Bess” as their weapon ; the young men are attired in rifle 
green and carry the Snider rifle. Upon her return she is saluted with 
the Armstroncr orun. 

o o 

Tak ing her way to the south the queen passes through a region of 
villages and pine-apple fields, and in sight of the Ankarat mountains, 
the loftiest in Madagascar. One of its highest peaks, despite the civil¬ 
izing influence of her reign, is thought by the villagers of the plains to 
be the home of some ruling power, and in times of pestilence and 
peril, they ascend the modest elevations near by and offer up fowls in 
sacrifice. 

Over hills of granite and gneiss, past the tombs of ancient kings and 
rocky fortresses, now deserted; along fertile valleys and fields of rice on 
plains and mountain terraces, the queen journeys towards her principal 
province of Betsileo, which is also the home of a distinct people. 

The Betsileos are darker in complexion than the Hovas. They are 
modest and unassuming but hardy in war, as the predecessors of the 
queen found to their cost, and there is yet a little kingdom of a few 
thousand people right in the center of her dominion which still boasts 
its independence. The stronghold of its chief is a lofty rock upon which 
is a strong fortress, which is accessible only by ropes from above, while 
a short distance away is a massive mountain, which is surrounded with 
such gloom and mystery that it is claimed by some of the natives to be 
the entrance to the Madagascan Hades. Upon its summit is said to be 
a large village of ghostly houses occupied by spirits who celebrate any 
noteworthy event, such as the arrival of the queen at a provincial town, 
by a salvo of ghostly artillery. The matter has been looked into by 
those who are skeptical of the ghost theory; they report that in the 
mountain is a grea^t cave, and that when the wind is high and blowing 
from certain directions, a booming noise is produced in its vast depths, 
not unlike the report of muffled, heavy ordnance. 

As the queen, with her body guard, at length approaches the capi¬ 
tal of the province, the residence of her governor, she is obliged to pass 
over a long wooden bridge, resting on twenty-six stone piers, which spans 
the shallow bed of a wide river. She is in the midst of lofty hills, and 
two broad valleys stretch away on either hand, on whose floor-like bot¬ 
tom she can count no less than eighty hamlets. Slowly winding over a 




192 


THE QUEEN APPEARS. 


steep ascent she and her retinue look across a deep valley and see her 
provincial capital crowning a solitary hill. The houses are arranged in 
groups, and below them, as walls of fortification, are planted thick 
hedges of the prickly pear. At the very summit of the hill is the gov¬ 
ernment stockade, while at its very base is the town market. 

When the scarlet tent of the queen is pitched on a picturesque 
knoll near the capital and the scarlet umbrella is elevated over her head, 
denoting that she has appeared in public, the capital is in an uproar. 
She with the officers of government are seated on a platform, while 
clustered around are the tents of her officers and troops and those of 
the Betsileo tribes who have marched from a distance. Those who have 
gathered to welcome her are packed in front of the platform, her guards 
immediately surrounding it. The lambas are of all shades and sizes, 
and the head-dresses of the women range from the huge piles of the 
Hova and Betsileo belles to the plain style of the American or English 
matron. 

When the queen arises to speak, the vast assembly salutes her with 
one accord. And what is the occasion of all this excitement ? The day 
before there has been an examination of the Betsileo schools and the 
queen is about to address the people on the subject of education. When 
this is a topic which is kept before our eyes and dinned into our ears 
from infancy to old age, it is scarcely possible to realize the eagerness 
with which every idea relating to it is seized upon and digested by this 
intelligent people of Madagascar. 

The introduction is long and circuitous, but the style of her address, 
delivered in a clear and distinct voice, and the earnestness of her plea, 
may be inferred from this short extract: 

“You are a father and mother to me ; having you I have all. And 
if you confide in me, you have a father and a mother in me. Is it not so, 
O ye under heaven?” To which with a deep voice the people reply: 
“It is so.” The queen continues : “ My days in the south are now few, 

for I am about to go up to Imerina; therefore, I will say a word about 
the schools, and I say to you all here in Betsileo, cause your children to 
attend the schools. My desire is that whether high or low, whether 
sons of the nobles, or sons of the judges, or sons of the officers, or sons 
of the centurions, let all your sons and let all your daughters attend the 
schools and become lovers of wisdom.” The prime minister then, in the 
queen s name, addresses the assembly on the subject of usury and says: 
“Thussaith the queen; all the usury exacted by the Hovas from the 
Betsileo is remitted, and only the original debt shall remain.” Such sen¬ 
timents as these are promulgated in far-away Madagascar ! For this is 
no fancy sketch, 


THE QUEEN APPEARS. 


193 


The reception of the queen upon her return to the capital is 
attended with much ceremony The roadway approaching it is lined for 
nearly a mile with double rows of soldiers, and when her majesty enters 
her capital, surrounded by her “ red-coats ” and officers in gorgeous uni¬ 
forms, she finds nearly the whole tribe of Hovas there to receive her. As 
the retinue draws near the groups of women and children who are closest 
to her majesty commence a low chant. They are recounting her titles 
and glorious descent and murmuring in an undertone : “ May you live 

long, sovereign lady, not suffering affliction. May you equal in length of 
days the entire people.” 

Finally, reaching an open plot of ground, she descends from her 
palanquin and is conducted by her prime minister to a seat placed in the 
center of her “assembly ground.” Near the seat is a bare, blue rock — 
the sacred stone upon which she is careful to step and give thanks for 
being allowed to re-enter her city in peace and safety. Within this open 
space are gathered an immense assembly — officers on foot and horse¬ 
back, ladies of the court in English dress, singing women, servants and 
slaves with loaded palanquins or guarding the baggage of masters and 
mistresses, a band of native musicians, etc., etc., all garlanded and deco¬ 
rated with brilliant flowers. 

After receiving the congratulations of her people the queen is car¬ 
ried in another palanquin to the royal palace. This is one of a dozen 
palaces, situated in a great court-yard, in which also are the tombs of all 
the reigning members of her family. The queen’s own palace is not as 
large as many, being about the size of a comfortable dwelling house, and 
its body is composed of thick, upright pieces of dark-red wood. It is in 
the shape of a Greek cross, the north and south sides being filled out 
with a highly-ornamented veranda. 

Like all works done for the sovereign, the building of her palace is 
a species of tax imposed upon her subjects. Material and labor are 
furnished without pay, the only return made in former days being the 
royal grant that for three days previous to the opening of the palace, 
any crime could be committed without meeting with punishment. This 
reward for the people’s sacrifice has now been withdrawn, so that they 
not only have to donate the palace, but to behave themselves when it is 
completed, as well as to present their sovereign with substantial tokens 
of their allegiance when their work has been pronounced good. This 
presentation takes place in the palace and is conducted through the 
queen’s relatives, the prime minister and the head men of the tribes. So 
we leave the queen of Madagascar safe in her palace, and cross the 


13 




194 


THE QUEEN APPEARS. 


Indian Ocean to the Eastern islands, which are being possessed by 
Europeans and Asiatics. What native kingdoms remain lack coales¬ 
cence, being similar to those of Eastern and Western Africa. Although 
the Malayans of the Eastern seas retreat to the interior of their islands, 
they organize no such governments as that over which the Queen of 
Madagascar presides. They invite no European artisans and officers to 
instruct them in the industries and in war. No such Christian revival 
sweeps through their ranks as stormed the Hovas of Madagascar. No 
picturesque towns and fertile rice swamps, supporting tens of thousands 
of people, and imposing works of engineering skill, representing past 
and present ability, present themselves nearly two hundred miles from 
the coast, as they do in Madagascar. 

Instead, the Eastern Malayans are either cannibals who hunt for 
heads as boys do for marbles—simply wild-cats and tigers, who make 
their own weapons—or they are farmers, fishermen and traders, under 
control of stronger people. There are wrecks of powerful native king¬ 
doms scattered from ocean to ocean and there are many evidences of 
great natural and acquired ability in commerce and government, but the 
kingdom of Madagascar is the most striking living example of high 
development among the Malayans—and the wonderful consideration is 
that it seems the result of self-development. 





BORNEO MALAYANS. 

ORNEO and Celebes form the natural center of the East 
Indian Archipelago and it is easily conceived, as ethnologists 
have been led to believe, that from this locality occurred the 
great emigration of the Polynesians eastward. It may be, as 
has been pointed out by various eastern travelers, that Java, 
Sumatra and Borneo were formerly connected; that they 
formed, at the time of the emigration, with the Philippines the 
Formosa and Japanese Islands, part of one great continent. 
Their fauna is similar, and ocean soundings have proven that 
the three islands, at least, all stand on a plateau covered by a 
shallow sea, and have determined where the basins of the Pacific and 
the Indian oceans really begin. 

Borneo almost attains the dignity of a continent, its area being 
more than 250,000 square miles. Its surface may be described as a 
central group of mountains, surrounded by an immense forest, which, 
in turn is belted by wide alluvial plains edged with mangrove swamps 
and inundated land, the whole country being cut up by great rivers 
which creep from the moderately elevated interior to the sea. The 
plains are devoted to the cultivation of rice, and the forests and banks 
of the rivers harbor a noteworthy interior tribe known as the Dyaks. 



THE DYAKS. 


A Borneo forest is only equalled in grandeur and beauty by that 
of South America. First comes the bamboo, that gigantic grass, which 
the Dyak uses for his house, bridge, drinking vessels, mats, tables, bed¬ 
steads, mast and sail. The thickets tower above his house and stretch 
far back from the rivers bank. Tropical flowers and fruit are massed 
together along its margin. Cinnamon and sugar-cane, palms and the 
great gutta-percha tree are growing in brotherly profusion. The grace¬ 
ful vases of the pitcher plant hang from every shrub and bush. Orchids 

and ferns, creepers and bushropes interlace affectionately. Aromatic 

195 



















dyaks. 

odors fill the air, wafted from exuding laurels and blooming flow¬ 
ers. One is almost oppressed with this luxuriousness and sighs for 
an unobstructed ray of light and a fresh breath of air. The panther, 
the tiger, the crocodile and the orang-outang, with all the lesser tribe 
of monkeys; also tropical birds, butterflies, insects—everything which 
can be imagined as grand, beautiful, gorgeous or hideous in animal 
or vegetable life may, generally speaking, be found in a Borneo forest. 
Into all this bewildering mass of diversified life comes the Bornean 
hurricane. Conceive the ruin as the monster strides along. 

The Dyaks seem 
to be an aboriginal peo¬ 
ple who are neither 
Malayans nor Papuans. 
They are known as 
head-hunters,” from 
the fact that the people 
are as proud of the 
number of heads which 
they cut off as the In¬ 
dian is of his scalps. A 
young man cannot 
marry until he has pre¬ 
sented his intended with 
conclusive proofs that 
he is the hero of at 
least one head. The 
h i de o u s trophy, with 
tufts of grass in the ears 
and shells in the eyes is, 
in fact, hung upon the 
‘‘head-house,” a hall or 
council chamber (which 
is also used as a guest 
house) which is found 
in every Dyak village in 
the interior. A sword 
or knife, a shield of hard 
wood and a spear, are the weapons of the small but wiry Dyak, who is 
generally fighting the neighboring tribe. These wars have led to the 
custom of “head-hunting,” which has now become a part of the social 
fabric. Members of the same tribe are sociable and peaceable and to 



A HEAD-HUNTER. 

















































THE DYAKS. 


197 


see them engaged in friendly feats of strength and skill, it is hard to 
realize their cruelty. 

The dress differs with the tribe, but the staple article is a wrapper 
of cotton cloth around the loins. Some Dyaks are attired in tiger skins, 
with handsome head-dresses of monkey’s skins and pheasant plumes. 
Others are tattooed like a veritable New Zealander. It is customary 
for several families to live together in a large bamboo hut. It is some¬ 
times two hundred feet in length and proportionately wide, being raised 
on posts. Throughout, it is made of bamboo—walls, roof, floor, par¬ 
titions. Strips split from large bamboos form the floor, which, when 
covered with a mat makes an elastic and easy bed or seat. The bamboo 
floor is very easy to the bare feet, also. With constant tramping to and 
fro, and the daily smoking it gets, the interior of a native hut finally 
attains a color and polish which the lover of a meerschaum pipe might 
envy. 

There are mountain Dyaks and sea-coast Dyaks, the former being 
the real head-hunters. Let a birth,a death or a marriage take place in 
this great hut and immediately a man will start out for the head of an 
enemy with which to celebrate. Having slain his foe, the body is 
decapitated and the brains removed. The head is then placed over a 
fire, and in the process of smoking and drying the muscles hideously 
contract. Often the teeth are taken out of the skull and strung on a 
wire which becomes the hero’s necklace. Customs similar to these 
prevail among the Alfoers, of the Moluccas, the interior Papuan tribes. 

The free Dyaks, or those of the interior, who have not fallen under 
the Malayan yoke, are described as “honest, kindly and reserved,” and 
as living a comparatively joyous life. They raise rice, maize, tobacco 
and sago, and with the rattans and oils which they gather they are able 
to obtain brass, glass beads, salt, red cloth and other articles which they 
value more highly than gold. 

Some of the most thickly-peopled districts of Central Borneo lie 
in the upper basins of the great rivers, which are rich in gold deposits. 
When the precious dust is discovered at the bottom of the river a small 
raft supplied with a gate or railing which can be let down into the water, 
is poled to the spot. The gate is then lowered so as to form both an 
anchor and a ladder, and both men and women dive under water with 
wooden platters and proceed to sift out the gold dust. 

MARRIAGES AND FUNERALS. 

Among the Dyaks polygamy is allowed, although it is uncommon. 
They do not intermarry with other people ; or rather, those who do are 



198 


OTHER PEOPLE AND KINGDOMS. 


no longer regarded as Dyaks. The natives are superstitious, and have 
their dancing priestesses, who heal the sick, exorcise evil spirits and con¬ 
duct the souls of the dead to their abiding place. These are profes¬ 
sional duties among some of the tribes ; among others they are assumed 
by the wives and daughters of well-to-do natives. Being carried into 
the outer air, the corpse is denuded of flesh, the bones burned and the 
ashes placed in urns which are deposited in “the house of the dead.” 
Buffaloes, wild hogs and even human beings are sacrificed at a funeral. 
The case is mentioned of a chief who, upon the occasion of his wife’s 
death, deposited in her coffin eight suits of clothing and all her orna¬ 
ments. Immediately after she expired, he immolated a slave; three 
other slaves when her corpse was removed from his house; and after 
the body was burned, eight slaves, sixty hogs and two buffaloes were 
put to death. Among the wealthier Dyaks it is customary for the sur¬ 
vivor, whether widow or widower, to remain seated in the house for a 
certain length of time, the period varying from one or two, to half a 
dozen months. When a tribe has concluded a treaty of peace or alli¬ 
ance with another, the warriors assemble, human sacrifices are offered, 
and amulets and fetiches are dipped in blood, which is also sprinkled over 
all parts of their bodies. 

OTHER PEOPLE AND KINGDOMS. 

Living with the Dyaks are the Bughis, a commercial people from 
Celebes, who are both traders and pirates. They really control the 
internal trade of Borneo, as do the Malayans, the Dutch and the British 
the export. In the deepest woods and solitudes, in caves and upon 
trees, dwell the naked, savage Negritos or Papuans, who are also found 
in the Philippine Islands. The Chinese immigrants to the number of 
250,000 form an independent commonwealth on the western coast, occu¬ 
pying themselves with trade and working the gold mines. All around 
the island lying upon the coasts are native kingdoms governed by princes 
and sultans without number. The most important of these is the 
Malayan kingdom of Bruni, whose sultan has many rajahs under him. 
Its capital contains 20,000 people. Part of the houses are built on rafts 
and part on stakes, and canals pass through the town in all directions. 
The kingdom has quite a trade with Singapore. 

The Dutch predominate as a foreign power, except on the western 
coast, where the English are in the ascendant. For 300 miles on the 
northwestern coast stretch the dependencies of Sarawak, a state or col¬ 
ony which was founded by Sir James Brooke and governed by him for 
many years as chief. For quelling an insurrection of independent 


OTHER PEOPLE AND KINGDOMS. 


199 


Dyaks with his picked English soldiers and sailors he was appointed 
governor of this district by the sultan of Borneo or Bruni. Within his 
territory he found specimens of every tribe and race which inhabit the 
great island, and with that material to work with succeeded in almost 
suppressing piracy in the Indian Archipelago, besides welding the many 
fragments into a compact state. Since his retirement from the govern¬ 
orship, however, the English government has refused to annex it to the 
British Empire. 






SUMATRA MALAYANS. 

UMATRA is divided between the Dutch and several brisk 
native states, the most important of which are the kingdom 
of Siak, on the eastern coast, and that of Acheen, on the north¬ 
western. The Dutch possessions are chiefly on the western 
coast. The inhabitants are mostly Malayans of a pronounced 
type, and so wedded to their islands that they scarcely ever 
venture to the continent. To the north the inhabitants seem 
to have much of the nature of the Hindus, and are distin¬ 
guished for their size and warlike propensities. The Chinese 
are numerous on the eastern coast. This portion of the 
island is level and watered by several large rivers, while the western por¬ 
tion is mountainous and grandly beautiful. Along the southwestern 
coast the mountains rise abruptly from the shore, the ranges in all parts 
of the island being broken by both lateral and longitudinal valleys. 
The interior has been little explored, notwithstanding which a beautiful 
valley about a hundred miles in length, stretching up to the foot of a 
mountain has been fixed upon by some as the original home of the Malay¬ 
an race after it had been driven from the continent by the Aryans or 
emigrated from the now submerged continent of Lemuria, south of Hin¬ 
dustan. 

A ONCE GREAT KINGDOM. • 

The interior, including the once powerful kingdom of Menangka- 
bou is governed by the resident of Upper Pedang, a Dutch official. Two 
miles west of their fort. Van de Capellen, is Pagaruyong, now a small 
village, but in ancient times the capital of that great Malayan kingdom. 
The word Menangkabau signifies in Javanese “the victory of the buf¬ 
falo,” and this, with traditional testimony, seems to point to the kingdom 
as a product of Javanese activity, for it is known that the national sport 
of the natives of Java is to pit a buffalo against a tiger, and it is there¬ 
fore supposed that they thus commemorated one of their popular insti¬ 
tutions. 



200 

























A ONCE GREAT KINGDOM. 


201 


J^. legend represents the founders of the empire to be two of Noah’s 
“forty companions” who escaped with him, the ark resting on the 
mountain near Palembang. Remains of the ancient skill of the Men- 
angkabaus is still seen in their manufacture of gold and silver ornaments. 
Until forbidden by the Dutch government, they also made sword blades, 
cannon, powder and matchlocks, which they sold to the more warlike 
Acheens, at the northern end of the island. The early Portuguese nav¬ 
igators often mention these cannon in terms of considerable respect. 
Their matchlocks were made by winding a flat bar of iron around a cir¬ 
cular rod and welding it together. They used native iron which they 
mined, smelted and forged themselves. 

Another important state of the Menangkabau kingdom was the 
country of the “Thirteen Confederate Towns,” which were banded 
together for mutual protection and surrounded by stockades and bam¬ 
boo hedges; notwithstanding which the confederacy was subdued by 
the Dutch and the country parcelled up into districts, as were all other 
portions of the kingdom. 

NATURAL AND POLITICAL DIVISIONS. 

The extreme south and east coasts form the Lampong districts. 
The natives are of middle stature, pleasant and lazy, in striking contrast 
to the Acheenese. Caste prevails, and they are loose Mohammedans. 
The Lampongs are polygamists, and buy their wives from relatives. It 
is also customary for several families to live under the same roof, as with 
the Papuans of New Guinea. 

North of the Lampongs is the residency of Palembang, with the 
kingdom of Djambi, which has been ruled over by a native prince under 
Dutch control. 

Above Palembang, on the eastern coast, are Siak and several other 
minor states. Then comes the most powerful of the native states, 
Acheen, in the north. 

The kingdom of Acheen has an area of over 2,000 square miles, 
with a population variously given at from 450,000 to 2,000,000. The 
natives are not only powerful bodily but intellectually, although they are 
cunning, proud and blood-thirsty. They are simple in their habits but 
slaves to opium. 

VILLAGE AND HOME LIFE. 

The native villages are scattered throughout the island and cast 
much in the same mold. The plank or bamboo houses are raised about 


202 


VILLAGE AND HOME LIFE 


six feet from the ground, with high roofs and overhanging eaves, posts 
quaintly carved, furnished with mats and often surrounded by a lofty 
fence. Cocoa-nut trees give their pleasant green to add variety to the 
scene. Most of the villages, also, have a market building with a cres¬ 
cent-shaped roof, the horns pointing upward. 

The Dutch government have, in many ways, taken the native cus¬ 
toms as the ground-work of their own laws ; so that within their domain, 
brides are still purchased as they have been of old. That is, supposing 
a marriage between Malayans takes place, the parents cannot legally 
recover from the groom more that twenty guilders, or eight Mexican 
dollars. The young man may pay as much more as he likes, but it is 



A VILLAGE MARKET HOUSE. 

said that this is considered so large a sum that most of the females who 
are below par in personal charms are single. Since the same sum must 
be paid for any kind of a bride, the Malayan evidently has determined 
to take his pick. It sometimes happens that the father chooses a hus¬ 
band for his daughter and the happy couple are taken with him to live, 
but are considered as servants until the young Malayan can pay a 
specified sum. 

The costume of the women consists of a turban, one end hanging 
down and ornamented with imitations of leaves and fruit, wrouMit with 
gold thread. The upper portion of the body is clothed in a shawl-like 
garment, over which is wound a piece of calico about a yard long, the 















VILLAGE AND HOME LIFE. 


203 


two ends being twisted together at the right hip. They also are in the 
habit of distending the lobe of the ear by inserting in the hole an elastic 
leaf, the tendency of which is to unroll. A saucer-shaped ornament with 
a groove in its rim is then put into the ear, and when the work of exten¬ 
sion is complete the opening is almost large enough for the wearer to 
pass one of her hands through. The lobe of the ear at last becomes 
nothing but a thin loop of flesh, barely attached to the head. The men 
are not guilty of such a fashion, although it is observed in all the 
Chinese and Japanese images of Buddha that he himseT was addicted 
to the foolish practice. 

When on the hunt, the natives are accustomed to dig pits of the 
exact form of the rhinoceros so that when he falls into them he is unable 
to gain a foothold on their slippery sides. Some of them are bold 
enough to hamstring an elephant by springing up behind him, as he is 
walking and partly sliding down a steep hill, and dealing him a heavy 
blow with a cleaver. 

CANNIBALS AND MECHANICS. 

Partly within and partly without the Dutch possessions are a singu¬ 
lar people, their tribes united into a kind of confederacy. Those of the 
interior are independent of all foreign rule. The Battas are Malayans, 
but they have invented a language and alphabet of their own. They 
write upon pieces of young bamboo, a couple of inches in diameter and 
six inches long, their pen being often a blunt needle. As spoken by the 
various branches of this tribe the language differs only to the degree of 
dialects, and it may therefore be considered a unit. 

And yet, despite this evidence of civilization, where the Dutch 
government has no dominion the Battas are cannibals. The Dutch 
governor, not long ago, was assured by a native chief that he had eaten 
human flesh between thirty and forty times, and that he had never 
tasted anything that he had relished half as well. The supply of flesh 
is obtained according to law; for the penalty of being convicted of 
adultery, midnight robbery, or a treacherous attack on any house, 
village or person, is to be cut up alive. To this list of crimes, thus 
punishable, some investigators add that of intermarrying in the same 
tribe. Prisoners of war are cut up, also. 

The chiefs of this fierce people, all of whom were once cannibals, 
present quite a royal appearance, being ornamented with various golden 
devices, which the natives make themselves. The head-dress is a short 
turban, the two ends hanging down in front; to these are attached cir- 


204 


CANNIBALS AND MECHANICS. 


ciilar or diamond-shaped pieces of gold. Their short jackets are trimmed 
with bands of gold or silver and their belts are adorned with flowers and 
scrolls worked with gold thread. 



The tools employed by the Malayan artists to bring out really fine 
effects are a flat stone, a hammer and two or three large blunt awls. 
Flowers, leaves, fruits and even models of houses are brought into relief 

by beating the gold out 
into thin . sheets of the 
desired form and then mak¬ 
ing a corresponding groove 
on the opposite or inner 
side. 

Upon a high cliff, which 
rises perpendicularly from 
a stretch of low ground 
bordering the bay of 
Pedang, and which is on 
the ocean declivity of the 
mountains which sweep 
around parallel to the shore, 
is the “ Devil’s Dwelling ” 
—so the natives firmly 
believe. The way to its 
summit lies through the 
territory of the Battas and 
over the rough rocks of 
mountain torrents. Few 
coast Malayans are fool¬ 
hardy enough to venture a 
visit to the “ Devil’s Dwell¬ 
ing;” for stories are told 
of the fiendish character of 
the mountainous tribes 
which make even their cool 
blood run cold. The tales are brought to the outside world by missionaries 
who have braved these horrors, and report that among themselves the Bat¬ 
tas show the same cruelty as they do toward their enemies. There was a 
Batta, it is said, who had been guilty of stealing an article of small value. 
He was seized, his extended arms fastened to a bamboo, his chin propped 
with a sharpened stick, and bound fast to a tree. The native who had 
lost the article was then ordered by the chief to advance with a knife 


A BATTA. 








































CANNIBALS AND MECHANICS. 


205 


and cut from the helpless man whatever portion of the body he desired. 
This he did, the chief took next choice and the members of the tribe 
completed the butchery. 

Says an authority: “The parts that are esteemed the greatest 
delicacies are the palms of the hands, and, after them, the eyes. As 
soon as a piece is cut out it is dipped, still warm and steaming, in 
‘sambal,’ a common condiment composed of red or Chili peppers and 
a few grains of coarse salt, ground up between two flat stones.” Canni¬ 
balism is reported to have originated among these people in this wise. 
One of their chiefs once committed a great crime, for which they agreed 
he should suffer death, but he was so powerful that no particular person 
would be held responsible for his punishment. Finally, he was killed 
and the responsibility was divided by each one eating a piece of his 
body. Having once tasted of human flesh, like lions, they all became 
man-eaters, agreeing that the next of their number who merited capital 
punishment should go the way of their former rajah. 

The villages of the Battas usually consist of a single street. The 
women wear a garment which falls from the waist to the knee, and the 
young ones have the odd custom of wearing from fifteen to twenty iron 
rings in each ear and as many more on their arms above the wrist. 
Goitre is very common among these mountainous people, who are 
unaccustomed to the use of salt, which is said to prevent, or at least 
stay the progress of the disease. It is said to seldom or never appear 
among those Malayans who have lived on the sea-coast for several gen¬ 
erations. 

A Batta grave consists of a rectangular mound with a wooden 
image of a horse’s head on one end and part of a horse’s tail fastened 
to the other, the mound forming his body. The image of a nude man 
or woman is placed on each of the four corners and over all is a rude 
roof supported on four posts. A fence of sticks, four feet high, from 
which fly small flags of white cloth, surrounds the whole structure. 

AN ENGINEERING FEAT. 

The ingenuity of the Malayan is forcibly shown in the construction 
of several suspension bridges made of rattan. One of them in the Rau 
Valley, in the country of the Battas, is thrown over a mountain torrent, 
at a height of about 125 feet, having for its middle support the tops of 
some tall trees which grow from a small and rocky island Its total 
length is 375 feet. Three large rattans are first stretched across, the 
narrow strips of board which form the floor being fastened by common 
rattan. The cords of the bridge come from either bank, passing above 


2o6 


AN ENGINEERING FEAT. 


the branches of high camphor trees, and support the structure accord¬ 
ing to the principles of a suspension bridge. It is not all that it should 
be as to stability; for the native who crosses upon it is liable to be 
pitched upon the rocks below if he should lose his balance and attempt 
to steady himself by laying his hand upon the sides. If the bridge gets 
to swinging too much, the only thing to do is to stop until the motion 
is stayed. 




THE JAVANESE. 


HE natives of Java are among the most industrious and inge¬ 
nious of the Malayan tribes. As their island has been called 
the Cuba of the East, so the Javanese are superior to any 
other people of Asia, except the Chinese and the Japanese, as 
skillful agriculturists. Their coffee plantations, among the 
finest in the world, are situated at an elevation of 2,000 feet 
and upward, but are conducted principally by the Dutch gov¬ 
ernment. The 
native modes of 
obtaining wealth 
from the soil are crude 
enough, but the industry 
of the people, their dense 
population and manual 
dexterity, added to the 
energy of the colonial 
government, have en¬ 
abled them to distance 
all Malayan competitors. 

A Javanese plow is made 
with a single handle, with 
an iron share which only 
cuts into the ground a 
few inches. The buffalo 
is guided with the unoc¬ 
cupied hand. 

RICE AND SUGAR CANE. 

Rice and sugar cane are the principal products of the Javanese 
agriculturist. When one sees rice districts which stretch away to the 
horizon on either hand, he is filled with wonder at that human patience 
which supports the native, who according to the dictates of his religion. 




























































































2o8 


THE JAVANESE. 


must gather these immense harvests blade by blade. One by one the 
ripened blades are clipped off near the top, the bottom being left to 
enrich the soil. After the harvest has been gathered the ground is 
broken up with a spade, hoe or plow, and harrowed with a rake, water 
being let into the field through artificial dikes. Though ingenious, as 
we have seen, the Javanese have never invented a water-wheel, or other 
apparatus for flooding their fields. 

The Malayan s field is often assailed by huge flocks of birds. His 
method of frightening them away is similar to that which we have 



A NATIVE “RIG.” 

noticed as being in vogue on the African grain coast. He erects a 
bamboo house, placed on long poles, and from this watch-tower run 
rows of stakes to all parts of the field. These are connected by strings 
in such a way that he can vibrate the sticks and frighten away the pests 
in any particular part of the field which he desires. Land that is 
planted to sugar cane is 'quickly exhausted, as the Malayan farmer 
never thinks of manuring his field; consequently two-thirds of a planta¬ 
tion are devoted to rice, which plan supplies the laborers with food and 
























RICE AND SUGAR CANE. 


209 


keeps the ground fresh. When cut the sugar cane is bound into bun¬ 
dles containing about twenty-five stalks each, which are then hauled to 
the long, low white factory buildings in clumsy, two-wheeled carts. 
After the sugar has been extracted from the cane, a mixture of clay 
and water is poured over it. The water thus impregnated, filters 
through the brown sugar, and washes the crystals white. This process 
is said to have been suggested by the birds, it having been noticed 
that, when they stepped upon the brown sugar with their muddy feet, 
those places which were touched became white. The inference was 
thus drawn that there was some chemical affinity between the sugar 
and the clay. After the sugar has been extracted, the molasses which 
drains off is fermented with rice, palm oil is added, and the result is an 
intoxicating drink called arrak, which is very popular with all the natives 
of the Archipelago. The liquor is even shipped to Sweden and Nor¬ 
way-, where its effects are not so destructive as in warmer climates. 


BUFFALO VS. EUROPEAN. 


A piece of 
laud, a bamboo 
hut and a buffalo 
and cart ’’would 
be the usual way 
in which a poor 
Javanese would 
list his property. 

In both their 
plows and carts 
the animals are 
led or driven 
singly. The 
reins pass thro’ 
the buffalo’s nos¬ 
trils, and are at¬ 
tached to his horns. And so the Malayans, with their house-like carts, 
go plodding along, stopping now and then, if it is warm and the jour¬ 
ney is long, to allow their bovine friend a chance to wallow in one 
of the artificial ponds which are constructed for his benefit by the road¬ 
side. The Malayan buffalo, thinly covered with hair, is larger than the 
American species and usually so docile with the natives that children 
can drive him; but for some reason he has an unconquerable aversion 


A JAVANESE HOUSE. 







PI 



' -I*ii.iii -! ‘ fip'll 





■notii' 1W iff’ 



|i 













































210 


SPORTS. 


to Europeans, which he manifests by breathing heavily through the 
nose; and when he so expresses himself it is well for the European to 
get away, since a buffalo is more than a match for a tiger. 

HOUSES AND PEOPLE. 

In some of the interior villages the houses are built with special 
reference to the ravages of the tigers. They are placed on posts twelve 

or fifteen feet high, a ladder leading up to a 
landing which is inclosed by a strong fence and 
a gate. The natives keep hens, and except 
for the tigers, would have dogs. The ordi¬ 
nary dwellings of the people are built of a rough 
frame of timber, thatched with grass or palm 
leaves, and with walls and partitions of split 
bamboo. 

The Malayan uses the oil of the cocoa- 
nut for lighting purposes, and he is a faithful 
illuminator. His common lamp is nothing but 
a glass tumbler, in which floats a small quan¬ 
tity of oil upon considerable water, and in the 
oil are two small splints that support a piece 
of pith for a wick. 

SPORTS. 

The Javanese seem to be the only tribe 
of Malayans who do not systematically gamble. 
Their passion is cock-fighting, and the vice has 
even taken such a hold upon their language 
that “ there is one specific name for cock-fight¬ 
ing, one for the natural and one for the artificial 
spur of the cock, two names for the comb, 
three for crowing, two for a cock-pit and one 
A JAVANESE FORK. for a professioiial cock-fighter.” 

Music is a passion with the Malayan, and especially the Javanese, 
who have arrived at really a high degree of perfection in the manufac¬ 
ture of their instruments. They have their kromo, or series of gongs 
set in some kind of a framework and struck with sticks which are coated 
with gum to deaden the sound ; the gambang, consisting of wooden 
or brass bars placed over a trough and struck with knobbed sticks ; their 
flutes and triangles. The Javanese have about two dozen musical instru- 




SPORTS, 


2 II 


ments of various kinds. On the Peninsula of Malacca a bamboo thirty 
or forty feet long has its partitions removed and holes cut in the sides, 
after which it is placed upright in a tree for the breezes to play upon. The 
notes which proceed from this unique instrument vary, of course, with the 
strength of the wind, but they are extremely sweet and weird. 

FEMALE FASHIONS. 

Unmarried females wear silver on their forearms and broad bands 



A JAVANESE LOOM. 

of that metal on their wrists. Large rings made of hollow tubes are 
even worn, so as to cover both arms from the wrists to the elbows, or sil¬ 
ver chains on the neck and less hideous ear ornaments than those 
above noticed. 




























































































































































































































































































212 


REMAINS OF ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 


Young girls ofter wear a lace garment bespangled with thin pieces 
of silver, combing their hair back and fastening it in a knot behind ; in 
this are stuck long, flexible pins that rapidly vibrate when they dance or 
are in continual motion. They stain their lips a dull red and some of 
them bang their hair. Their dance consists of slowly twisting the 
body and shifting its weight from heel to toe, and vice versa. The dance 
is accompanied by a song and lightly beating upon a number of small 
gongs. 

REMAINS OF ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 

Near the northern coast of Java is a mount famed in Javanese 
mythology and history. It resembles a native boat or prau turned 
upside down, and is therefore known as Mount Prau. Upon its sum¬ 
mit was the supposed residence of the gods and demigods. The ruins 
of temples and metal images of their divinities, some of them nearly 
covered with lava, indicate that it was very holy ground. 

Near the very center of the island stands a pyramid loo feet high, 
which has been constructed from a natural hill-top, terraced and adorned 
with many images of Buddha, which are set into niches. At the summit 
of the pyramid, which consisted of quite an area, is a mighty dome¬ 
shaped building surrounded by seventy-two smaller ones. One of the 
most imposing groups of temples in the East, even in their decay, is that 
of the Thousand Temples. They are really less than a third of this 
number, built on terraces, a large central building overlooking all the 
rest, and the entire group forming a quadrangle 540x510 feet, exactly 
facing the cardinal points. These mighty ruins are less than eighty 
miles apart, and furnish astounding evidences of a great civilization 
which existed before Brahmanism and Buddhism were expelled by 
Mohammedanism. 

The Javanese are as far advanced toward rational worship, perhaps, 
as any branch of the Malayan race. But, even among them, old customs 
and superstitions stubbornly refuse to die and give place to new ones. 
In the southern part of the island is an active volcano which rises 7,500 
feet above the sea and boasts one of the largest craters in the world — 
three and a half by four and a half miles from rim to rim. “ Its 
bottom is a level floor of sand, which in some places is drifted by the 
wind like the sea, and is properly named in Malay the Sandy Sea. 
From the sandy floor rise four cones, where the eruptive force has suc¬ 
cessively found vent for a time, the greatest being evidently the oldest, 
and the smallest the present active Bromo or Brama, from the Sanscrit 
Brama, the god of fire. On these Tenger Mountains (among which 



REMAINS OF ANCIENT RELIGIONS. 


213 


is the volcano) live a peculiar people who speak a dialect of the Javan¬ 
ese, and, despite the zealous efforts of the Mohammedan priests, still 
retain their ancient Hindu religion.” 

In the islands of Bali and Lombok, south of Java, the Hindu relig¬ 
ion also flourishes, with its invariable accompaniment of caste. First 
come the priests, then, in order, the soldiers, merchants and common 
laborers. The women frequently stab themselves as sacrifices to their 
religion, and their bodies are afterwards burned. The princes them¬ 
selves often require such sacrifices. 

These people and those of adjacent districts make an annual pil¬ 
grimage to the Sandy Sea. They spread themselves over its barren 
surface, some of them erecting rough stands for the sale of amulets, 
charms, volcanic stones and provisions ; some are eating, singing, laugh¬ 
ing ; some are praying ; a compact line of young priests have before 
them boxes of myrrh, aloes and other spices which they are selling for 
offerings; at right angles to them is a line of older priests; old men and 
women, children in arms are there in the sandy basin of the great crater, 
the earth groaning beneath them and the pit in the center sending forth 
its sulphurous smoke and vapors. 

Finally, the offerings are all laid upon bamboo stands and sprinkled 
by the priests with holy water, prayers are offered up, and the oldest 
rises and exclaims, his companions joining in chorus: “Forward, for¬ 
ward to the Bromo ! ” The whole multitude hasten toward the vol¬ 
cano, many stopping on the way to pray. Arriving at the summit, with 
the priests in advance, the people again present their offerings to their 
religious teachers, who bless the trinkets a second time and then hurl 
them into the brimstone pit. As they disappear down the crater each 
person repeats some prayer or wish — and so both the volcano and the 
people are blessed. After the exercises the participants descend from 
the mountain to engage in games and pastimes, have a grand, good 
time, and depart for their homes. 

THE TIMORESE. 

The Timor Islands are a group which lie southeast of Java and 
stretch toward Australia. They seem to be a bond of union between 
the vegetable and the animal life of the Archipelago, Australia and 
Polynesia. Especially is there found a most perplexing combination of 
humankind. Malayans, Chinese, Papuans, Portuguese, Dutch, Polyne¬ 
sians and Australians appear in such various degrees of mixture that it 
is hard to tell where you are from an ethnological point of view. 



214 


THE TIMORESE. 


In the second island from Java, however, Lombok, the Malay- 
ans have made themselves famous, as they did in Sumatra, for their skill 
in manufacturing guns. The manufacturer establishes his works in 
an open shed, his apparatus consisting of a mud forge, bamboo bellows, 
a piece of iron imbedded in the ground for an anvil, a vise fastened to 
the stump of a tree and a few files and hammers. 

Although but 300 miles in length and 40 in breadth, Timor is 
divided between the Dutch and Portuguese. It is surrounded by rocks 
and coral reefs, and is a great fishing ground for trepang, the fish, or 
sea-cucumbers, which the Chinese so esteem. The natives are assisted 
by the Bughis or Macassars in this industry, the plan being either to 
spear the fish one by one or dive for them. After the fishermen have 
landed their cargoes another squad or company proceed to split open 
the cucumbers and clean them, after which they are plunged into iron 
pans filled with boiling salt water and arranged outside the long smoking 
and drying sheds. This process requires from eight to ten hours, when 
the trepang are taken within, spread on a platform of bamboos running 
through the shed at the height of the eaves. The ground having been 
excavated two or three feet below the outside level, the fire can be 
kindled without danger of igniting the bamboo walls. 

The bees of Timor furnish the natives also with employment, the 
wax being an important export. Their honey-combs, which are not 
unlike a bee-hive in shape and three or four feet in diameter, are 
attached to the under side of branches of very lofty trees. The bee 
hunter works his way up the trunk of the tree by means of his feet, 
and a small flexible creeper, which he grasps in each hand and uses as a 
counter-force. He is armed with a torch, a knife tied to a stout creeper 
and a thin cord ; when he has worked his way up so as to be within 
proper distance, he proceeds first to smoke out the swarm and after¬ 
ward to slice off the honey-comb and lower it to his companions. Not¬ 
withstanding his body is partially protected, he is sometimes terribly 
stung. 

The Timorese are believers in the system of “ tabu.” Gardens and 
farms are protected from trespass by a native priest or chief, who per¬ 
haps sticks a few palm leaves outside to indicate that the ground is sacred 
or guarded by the “pomali.” The propensity of the natives is toward 
theft, and some play upon their superstitions is said to be necessary for 
the security of any kind of property. One trick of theirs, in this connec¬ 
tion, is to seize upon the person of an unprotected native, if he is of 
another tribe, and retain him as a slave. 

The Timorese seem to be of mixed Malayan and Papuan blood, 


THE TIMORESE 


215 


and are taller and more striking than those of pure blood. The Malay¬ 
ans proper show no traits peculiar to this island. Their women dye 
their lips with the betel and dress the same as in the islands further 
north. Their huts are of the common bamboo style, thatched with 
palm leaves, but are level with the ground. 

THE COMMERCIAL TRIBES. 



From Celebes, east of Borneo, go out the most enterprising traders 
and navigators of the seas. Their boats average forty or fifty tons bur¬ 
den, and some of them are twice as large. In these junk-like praus 
they visit every island of the Archipel¬ 
ago as far as xA^ustralia to barter with 
the natives ; in what manner will be 
told when we come to speak of the 
natives of New Guinea, who are 
among their most profitable 
customers. The Buofhis and 
the Macassars of Celebes are 
what the Malayans formerly 
were as a people — restless, 
daring navigators. The form¬ 
er have a literature as well as a 
commerce of their own, and 
the latter claim a 
divine origin, hav¬ 
ing a tradition that 
a goddess came 
down from heaven 
to marry their fore¬ 
father, a mighty a Malayan prau. 

chief. From Sumatra or China direct the Macassars were introduced to 
cannon and gunpowder, and with their improved arms and good swords, 
they were able to spread their Mohammedanism over nearly the whole 
of the island. Their attempt to subjugate the Moluccas resulted in 
the defeat of their 700 vessels and 20,000 warriors by the Dutch. The 
Bughis then assumed the lead by becoming tributaries of the Nether¬ 
lands government, and have since retained it. The other natives of the 
island are the Minahassas, who are a powerfully-built people, sometimes 
approaching the Europeans in complexion, '.ntellectually they are infe¬ 
rior to the Bughis and Macassars. 
















THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDERS. 


2 I 6 


THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDERS. 



The Philippine Islands constitute an archipelago in the Pacific 
Ocean, lying northeast of Borneo, having on the west the China Sea, on 
the east the North Pacific, and on the south the Sea of Celebes. This 
archipelago has an area of over 114,000 square miles, and a population 
of 7,000,000. It consists of about 1,200 islands, large and small, of which- 
the principal are Luzon, Mindoro, Samar, Panay, Leyte, Cebu, Negros, 

Bohol, Mindanao 
and Palawan. 
Luzon is the only 
island of great 
commercial impor¬ 
tance. It contains 
the capital, Manila. 

Of the 7,000,000 
natives probably 
one-fourth are gov¬ 
erned by native 
princes. The 
native inhabitants 
are mostly of the 
Malayan race, and 
It Is supposed that 
there are about 
10,000 of an in¬ 
teresting primitive 
people known as 
Negritos. Small 
numbers of these 
people are found 
scattered over 
most of the Islands. 
The average adult 


A NATIVE OF LUZON. stature of the 

Negrito Is aboutTour feet and nine or ten inches. From an anthropo¬ 
logical standpoint they are interesting, but they do not figure in the 
politics of the islands. 

Long ago the Spaniards succeeded In making a large number of 
the Malayan population nominal Christians, but in the great Island of 
Mindanao and the neighboring islands at the southern end of the archi- 













THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDERS. 


217 



pelago, the Mohammedan missionaries, several generations ago, converted 
the people to Mohammedanism, and thus there is a very considerable 
Musselman population. These so-called “Moros,” however, are of essen¬ 
tially the same racial type as the Tagal population of the island of Luzon. 

Manila is the largest commercial port and, like all large cities of the 
far East, there are many Europeans and Americans engaged in business 
pursuits, but throughout the entire Philippine group there are probably 
not more than 10,000 men, women and children who are of unmixed 
white blood, not including the 
transient soldiery and civil 
officers formerly in the service 
of Spain. There is a popula¬ 
tion of from 10,000 to 15,000 
people of mixed white blood. 

The Chin ese form an exceed¬ 
ingly influential commercial 
element in the town, and there 
are also many Japanese. 

These two types probably 
number 60,000 p e o p 1 
throughout the entire group 
of islands. Among them is 
also a considerable half-breed 
element. Altogether it is 
estimated that the Malay 
population is fully eleven- 
twelfths of the total population 
of the islands and those are 
the people who are called 
“Filipinos,” although some of 
the so-called Filipinos are of 
mixed Spanish blood — 

Aguinaldo, for example. It 
has been shown that there are thirt3'-five different languages in the 
archipelago, thus proving that the Filipino-Malays are by no means a 
homogeneous nation. 

The Tagalas, who inhabit most of the central and southern parts ol 
Luzon, are the leading Filipino race and are the most highly developed. 
They are brownish-yellow in color, of middle stature; they have promi¬ 
nent cheek bones, low nasal bridge, prominent nostrils and narrow eyes. 


HOME MANUFACTURES. 









2i8 


THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDERS. 


Their hair is black, smooth, straight and thick. The mouth is large, the 
lips full, and the chin short and round. This description also applies in 
its general outline to the whole Malay population. 

The second largest seaport of the archipelago is Iloilo. Here the 
Viscayas, a people similar to the Tagalas, have their headquarters, but 
they spread over a very considerable portion of the islands of Panay, 
Samar, Leyte, Cebu and Bohol. They also occupy the northern portion 
of the large island of Mindanao. 

Far to the south are the Sooloo Islands, which are governed by 
native sultans. The inhabitants are brave and extremely warlike. 
Their warriors, in fact, are considered the fiercest and best disciplined of 
the Malayan tribes. Sooloo, the capital, is situated on the island of that* 
name and extends out into the ocean. Its houses are built in rows and 
far enough apart to admit of the passage between them of a man-of-war. 
The town is defended by two strong batteries, and is designated the 
“Algiers of the West.” The amusements of the Sooloos partake of their 
warlike disposition, their principal sport being cock-fighting. The natives 
build canoes and some ships of considerable tonnage 

Up until the time the Philippines were ceded by Spain to the United 
States, the government was administered by a Governor-General and 
Captain-General, and the forty-three provinces into which the islands 
were divided were ruled by governors, alcaldes, or commandants, accord¬ 
ing to their importance and position. The United States placed the 
islands under military government: 

The Philippines were discovered by Magellan in 1520-21 and were 
finally annexed to the Spanish Dominion and named after Philip II 
They were designed rather as a missionary than as a commercial enter¬ 
prise, hence the religious orders here from the first had great influence 
in the establishment and institutions of the colonies. The independent 
tribes are partly Mohammedan and partly heathen, while the Spanish 
residents and their converts are Roman Catholics, and are under a 
hierarch with the archbishop of Manila at its head. 


PANORAMA OF NATIONS, 


219 



I, — Hawiian Ax. a.-—Carvrd Club from Tahiti. 3, 4. —Hammers from the Friendly Islands. 5, —Knife from Easte* 

Island. 6.—Boar’s Tusk—A War Ornament. 







































































































































THE POLYNESIANS. 


HE Society, Marquesas, Hawaiian, Feejee, Samoa, Friendly' 
and Caroline Islands are the best known localities where 
good specimens of this muscular, warlike, cannibalistic 
race may be found. They differ somewhat in personal 
appearance, although as a rule they are above the average 
height, symmetrically built—in fact, superb specimens of 
physical manhood. 

THE FEEJEE CANNIBALS. 

The group takes Its name from the island to the windward, and its 
people have acquired a decidedly unenviable reputation as possessing 
all the worst characteristics of the blood-thirsty savage. They are 
described as tall, sleek and portly, with stout limbs and short necks, 
with bushy hair joined to a round beard to which mustaches are often 
added. The men dress In a sort of sash of white, brown or fiorured 
cloth, using generally about six yards, though a wealthy man will wear 
one nearly one hundred yards long. The women usually wear their 
hair short, or done up in little twisted bits, that hang down like pieces 
of string; occasionally they go to the other extreme and dress the hair 
in huge and grotesque forms. 

The men do not tattoo their bodies but paint them, especially 
their faces, which they ornament with blotches, bars and stripes of red 
and black. Some of them only cover the forehead with a shiny black 
paint. They particularly pride themselves on the huge boars tusk 
which hangs from the neck and falls over the breast. The Feejeeans 
make a business of catching young boars and knocking out the front 
teeth of the upper jaw so that a free field may be given for the tusks 
to grow. The nearer the tusks approach to a circle the more beautiful 
they are considered. The native man of any standing wears a gauze¬ 
like turban. 

Both sexes paint their bodies and besmear them with oil, besides 



220 































HIGH-TONED SOCIETY. 


221 


wes-ring enormous enr ornaments. In former times neither sex wore 
any clothing' to speak of, but now near the settlements, in addition to 
the garments which extend from the waist to the knees the women are 
attired in a little loose jacket. Women are tattooed, but only on parts 
of the body which are covered. 


HIGH-TONED SOCIETY. 



A native chief squats upon the ground, like a common Feejee, but 
his person is sacred and often believed to be divine. He tills the 
ground and works otherwise with his hands, but he must be addressed 
in a peculiar language which is chanted by his subjects. They must 

approach him crouched or 
creeping and even worm 
their way over the floor 
of his house. It would be 
as much as ones life is 
worth to cross him from 
behind. When at sea 
the canoe is required to 
pass the chiefs boat on 
the inside. If a chief 
stumbles or falls, his at¬ 
tendants must do the same. 

A dreadfully amus¬ 
ing story is told of one 
of these grim old chiefs, 
who boasted, no doubt, 
of the number of persons 
he had eaten, but did not 
relish the idea of beine 
A FEEJEE CHIEF. made into meat himself. 

He was out at sea one day with a number of his warriors when their 
great canoe capsized. For some reason they were unable to right it 
and struck out for the shore with the sharks after them. Thereupon 
the chief called upon his two-score of warriors to protect his sacred 
carcass by forming a circle round him. The body of swimmers then 
moved on toward the shore, and as often as one common warrior was 
snapped up by the tigers of the ocean the gap was heroically closed; 
and so the person of the chief was not reached, although he left 
behind all but half a dozen of his brave body-guard. One should not 




222 


HIGH-TONED SOCIETY. 


reckltssly make light of the loss of human life, but surely this strangely 
true occurrence, which is said to have happened only a few years 
ago, is a wonderful combination of humor and pathos. This is but 
illustrative of the value which the people, and particularly the chiefs, 
place upon human life. 

CANNIBALS AND BAKALOS. 

The Feejeeans are, in fact, cannibals from choice, and not from 
motives of revenge. They like the taste of the human body, which 
they call long pig. Travelers, however, who go among them are 

partially reassured when they learn that the native little relishes the 
flesh of a white man, as it is usually tainted with tobacco and other 
distasteful things. They pre¬ 
fer the flesh of women to 
that of men ; notwithstand¬ 
ing which, they will not 
allow the female a sinorfe 
taste of human flesh. This 
custom seems more horrible 
when one is told that the 
Feejeean, who has not been 
civilized, does not confine 
his appetite to his enemies, 
but will look upon a villager, 
or (if he is a chief) upon a 
member of his tribe, as 
though he were an Ameri¬ 
can looking over a head of 
beef. Fat widows especially 
are the chief objects of his ^ chief’s house. 

pursuit and of all portions of the human body he considers the thick 
of the arm the choicest. 

The phrase long pig is not a white man’s joke, but is an actual 
expression of Feejeean vernacular. Pork, or real pig, is called bv 
the natives puaka dina, a human body puaka balava, or long pig. 
Neither is eaten raw but is stewed in their large earthen pots, with a 
variety of savory ^ herbs. Some of the skipper’s stories are told in 
the past tense, the incidents having occurred in years gone by before 
chese cannibals had been touched by any sort of humanity from the 
outer world —for instance : - If a man was to be cooked whole, they 

















CANNIBALS AND BAKALOS 


223 


would paint and decorate his face as though he were alive, and one of 
the chief persons of the place would stand by the corpse, which was 
placed in a sitting position, and talk in a mocking strain to it for some 
time, when it would be handed over to the cooks, who prepared it and 
placed it in the oven, filling the inside of the body with hot stones, so 
that it would be well cooked all throuo'h.” 



A FEEJEE CANNIBAL. 


After a battle the victors would cook and eat many of the slain at 
once; others were dragged to their temples and offered to their gods, 
the priests getting a large share of the victims. Occasionally a prisoner 
would be bound and placed in an oven, or be forced to eat a portion of 
his own body. 

The most famous cannibals kept a record of the bakalos they 
had devoured, the number often running into the hundreds; and even 












CANNIBALS AND BAKALOS. 


224 

at the present time it is not phenomenal to meet a Feejee brave who 
boasts of having eaten his man. On one of the islands there used to 
be a regular arena, around which were stone seats for the spectators and 
in the middle of which was a huge bowlder. Two stalwart natives 
seized the bound victim, each taking hold of an arm and leg, and rush¬ 
ing to the bowlder they dashed his brains out, the spectators shouting 
their applause. The time was when “ no important business could be 
commenced without slaying one or two human beings as a fitting inau¬ 
guration. Was a canoe to be built, then a man must be slain for the lay¬ 
ing of its keel; and, if possible, were the builder a very great chief, a 
fresh man for every new timber that was added. More were to be used 
at its launching as rollers to aid its passage to the sea, and others were 



POLYNESIAN BEAUTIES. 

slain to wash its deck with blood and to furnish a feast of human flesh 
considered so desirable on such occasions; and after it was afloat, still 
more victims were required at the first taking down of the mast.” 

When a chief, or other great man, feels a great craving come over 
him for some plump woman or child, he says that his back tooth aches 
and that only human flesh can cure it. The stories which these old skip¬ 
pers tell, who have sailed in cannibal waters for years, are enough to make 
one have a continual procession of nightmares. As intimated, the 
natives call the human body to be eaten the bakalo, and the tale goes 
that when the chief gets hold of a particularly choice bakalo he reserves 
it for himself entire, merely cooking the flesh from time to time so that 




















CANNIBALS AND BAKALOS. 


225 

it will not become quite putrid. Those who die a natural death are not 
eaten, but if a luscious native should be killed in one of their many broils 
and be gotten safely under ground, his relatives will have to watch his 



grave closely in order to scare away the ghouls who come after the body. 
There is little doubt but that the Feejeeans, as a people, are still canni¬ 
bals of an uncompromising nature, but exactly to what extent they par¬ 
take of puaka balava cannot be ascertained by living man. 

15 














































































































































































































































































































































































































































226 


SOCIETY, HIGH AND LOW. 

SOCIETY, HIGH AND LOW. 



Feejeean society is divided into castes or grades, viz.: (i), kings 
and queens ] (2), chiefs of large districts or islands, chiefs of 

towns, priests and ambassadors ; (4), distinguished warriors of low birth, 
chiefs of the carpenters, and chiefs of the turtle catchers ; (5), common 
people j (^6^, slaves of war. When a chief dies the order of succession 
is his next brother, his eldest son or his eldest nephew. His dignity is 
fixed by the number of wives he has, and his sister’s son is even a person 
of greater importance than his nephew on his brother’s side ; for he may 
claim anything except the chief’s own wives and home, though he reside 
in another district. He is 
sacred, or taboo. A chief 
may protect anything with a 
taboo, from the life of one 
of his great men to a favorite 
boar. The fact that such 
sacredness has been imposed 
upon anything by chief or 
priest is indicated by certain 
marks which the natives un¬ 
derstand. Cocoa-palms and, 
in fact, whole crops are some¬ 
times thus protected. Cer¬ 
tain actions or habits may* 
also be tabooed ; for instance^ 
women may paint with red 
and other colors, but black 
is strictly taboo to them. 

As with most of the a civilized girl. 

lower grades in savage life, the degree of crime is fixed by the rank of 
the offender and of his victim. Offenses against chastity, however, 
witchcraft, incendiarism and infringement of a taboo, are usually visited 
with death, the executing instrument being a musket, noose or club. 
Disrespect to a chief and treason are inexcusable, although in these 
cases it sometimes happens that father will suffer for son, or friend for 
friend, it seeming to make little difference to these blood-thirsty people 
who dies so long as a life is sacrificed. 

Europeans who have been cured of serious complaints by native doc¬ 
tors, or old women, have great stories to tell of the wonderful knowledge 
they possess of the uses of herbs. The old women, they say, take you 



THE TUNGESE. 


227 


in hand and bring you decoctions and infusions of leaves, which they 
make you drink, whilst they stand by to see that you save none of the 
leaves and so learn their secrets. If they send you medicines, the leaves 
they consist of are always chewed or pounded out of shape. Their 
knowledge of poisons is great and is extensively used by chiefs for 
political purposes. The operation of some of the poisons is slow though 
fatal, so that the relatives of the deceased do not at the time suspect the 
stranger, who has so ingratiated himself that they have given the health 
of the victim into his care. 


As would be inferred from the disposition of the Feejeean, he is a 
warrior by nature. He usually goes armed with a musket, battle-axe, 



WOMEN OF TONGA. 


club, bow, spear or sling. His club is an Irishman’s shillalah, which he 
throws with deadly precision; and palisades and breastworks adorn his 
mountain strongholds. 

THE TONGESE. 

These people, the natives of the Tonga, or Friendly Islands, have 
nearly all been Christianized and civilized to some extent, being 
governed by one chief called King George. They are thus able to con¬ 
centrate theirforces, and have even planted colonies on the Feejee Islands 
in spite of the opposition of their neighbors. In former times the Tonga 
Islands were governed by a spiritual chief, who claimed descent from the 
gods. He was called the “Tui Tonga”—chief of Tonga. For more 




















228 


THE TONGESE. 


than half a century the king has usurped his authority, although 
the office and the spiritual chief still exist in a shadowy way. He has 
his house, into which, uninvited, King George cannot enter, and when 
he comes within, as a mark of respect, he must seat himself at once. To 
stand before him would be an insult. The very name of Tonga-tabu, 
which has been given to the Tonga, or Friendly Islands, originated from 
the fact that the principal island was the residence of the Tui-Tonga*, 
hence Tonga-tabu, or sacred Tonga. We commence also to get at 
the significance of the English word taboo. 

ROYAL REFORMS. 

The Tongese have been enthusiastically described as being blessed 
with a delightful color, very much resembling a cup of good coffee 
with a great deal of rich cream in it. The people, especially the 
women, have dark and lustrous eyes. Their dress consists of a cloth 
fastened round the waist which hangs below the knees. Some time ago 
the king, who has been brought under the influence of missionaries and 
European ideas, attempted to enforce a law that the men should wear 
regular shirts and trousers of fabric, in place of the native '‘vala,”or 
waist-cloth similar to that worn by the women. This threatened to put 
a stop to the important industry of manufacturing “tappa’' (native 
cloth), besides being distaseful to them. The law was therefore repealed. 
Although it was expected that the women would support the dress 
reform, the pinafore in which they often appear when before Europeans 
is cast off upon every possible occasion and pretext. 

In some of the larger towns, where churches have been established 
and European ideas reign supreme, the native women appear in public 
with bonnets and hats trimmed with feathers and flowers. They used 
to go bareheaded, or garlanded with wreaths and natural flowers, as 
many of the Tongese do at the present time. The climate of the 
islands is very hot, and there was nothing immodest in the old fashions, 
the men, however, have carried the day for comfort. It would seem 
that the king has a tremendous itching for making laws. Both men and 
women smoke. King George conceived that it would be more proper 
that women should eschew the little, fragrant, native cigarette ; a decree 
which was promulgated to that effect caused such a hubbub that the 
royal legislator allowed its repeal. King George, furthermore, prohib¬ 
ited the men of his islands from indulging in the time-honored custom 
of tattooing themselves ; but a lusty young brave—who is a correct judge 
of beauty—is seen occasionally sneaking over to a neighboring island of 


HOME MANUFACTURES. 


229 



powder is placed in this vessel and a cocoa-nut shell full of water is 
poured on to it, after which the operator squeezes the mass to a pulp, 
grinding it between his palms until his temples throb, that he may get 
all the good out of it. Water is being added constantly. The stuff is 
then strained through a bundle of fibrous material, and the particles of 
dried root thrown aside, after which the kava is served in half cocoa- 
nut shells. Inexperienced drinkers insist that the liquid tastes more like 
soap-suds than anything else, although constant practice is said to over¬ 
come the delusion. A native drink, which any one might appreciate, is 


the Samoan group and undergoing the operation, which sets off his soft, 
brown skin to such advantage. 

HOME MANUFACTURES. 

The Tongese, in common with all the Polynesians, are extremely 
fond of kava, a drink made from the root of a species of pepper. The 
dry root is pounded between two stones, until enough material is ready 
for the large wooden bowl, which is placed before the compounder, 
whose operations have attracted to the house quite a company. The 


TONGESE BRAIDED WORK. 






































230 


HOME MANUFACTURES. 


made by squeezing the juice of partly ripened oranges into a quantity 
of cocoa-nut milk, flavored slightly with capsicum. 

Tonga women are skillful manufacturers of the gnatoo, or cloth 
made from the white mulberry, which goes into the valas of both sexes, 
their blankets and curtains. The outer bark of the tree is useless, the 
white inner bark being rolled up and soaked in water. This is then 
placed upon the squared side of a piece of palm wood, and the women 
beat out the pulpy strips with wooden mallets into a firm piece of cloth. 
Long, narrow pieces are joined with arrowroot and then beaten together, 
so that very large pieces are made, sometimes nearly one hundred feet 
square. After being beaten a week or two the cloth is stretched and 
painted with odd patterns. The stamping process is this: Onto a large 
piece of bark they fasten round thin twigs in the desired pattern, which 
they place under the unpainted cloth and upon which they press in order 
to get a slight marking. This is then painted with darker stamps. The 
colors are fixed by heat. The cheerful dispositions of the women are 
never more clearly brought out than by catching a glimpse of them at 
their work. Sometimes several of them will be working away at one 
log, and, not satisfied with the noise they themselves make, they will get 
boys to come and hammer away at the end of the trunk and beat time 
to their labors. Some of the braided work of these women is also very 
fine. 

THE OLD AND THE NEW. 

The old religion of the Tongese consisted in a belief in good, 
mischievous and evil gods, and in the immortality of the souls of nobles 
and chiefs. 1 heir heaven was on a larue island northwest of Tonpfa, 
called Bolutu. Human virtue consisted in paying respect to the gods, 
nobles and aged persons ; in defending one’s rights ; in honor, justice, 
patriotism, friendship, modesty, fidelity, chastity, filial love, patience, and 
religious observances. When the Europeans first came among them 
one of their sayings was, “as selfish as a Papalagi.” Their burial grounds 
are carefully tended, being sanded and kept clear of weeds. All 
the tombs are beautified and marked with a layer of small black stones, 
bright shells and coral. In some islands of the group, says a traveller, 
where no stones are found, the mourners of the lately dead repair 
to the volcanoes, Koa or Fofao, where, amidst the very smoke that 
arises from the living fires at the summit, they seek these pebbles for 
their graves. When pagans, the natives were devoted to war. They 
offered human sacrifices, and cut off their little fingers and toes as pro¬ 
pitiatory offerings to the gods. As stated, the nobles went to heaven 


the old and The new. 


2jl 


on the island of Bolutu, but the poor people remained in the world to 
feed upon ants and lizards. 

There may be some basis of truth in the following regarding the 
royal guard, which is told by an English tourist, for since the islands have 
fallen under the influence of the missionaries, most of the martial spirit 
of the people has disappeared: “On Sundays the old king generally 
goes to church, and it is then one of the occasions upon which the body¬ 
guard appears. He has two men who are dressed up in some ridiculous 
red uniform, and these, on Sundays, stand at his gate and present arms 
in the most proper manner as the king goes out. But the instant he 
has passed through, the royal guard have to turn and run as fast as ever 
they can, by a back way to the church door, where, breathless but grave, 

they present arms 


again upon his Maj¬ 
esty’s entrance. 
Some time ago the 
king was out in the 
country, where there 
was some slight dis¬ 
affection amono- the 

O 

inhabitants, who had 
not shown their loy¬ 
alty by moving the 
wooden barriers 
which are erected at 
the entrance of the 
towns to keep out 
the pigs. At the 
sight of this obstruc¬ 
tion his Majesty was incensed and forthwith ordered his guard to 
charge the barricade. This they instantly did, with the only result of 
completely doubling up their bayonets and having to come home again 
with their weapons over their shoulders, twisted into semicircles, for 
all the world like a party of reapers.” 

It may be added to the above, in all seriousness, that King 
George himself is a constant preacher, and when in the pulpit is 
impressive and earnest. Under his honest, though often somewhat 
over-zealous rule, the Tongese are making greater improvements than 
any other of the Polynesian islanders. Several printing presses have 
already been put in operation, with his hearty sanction. Many of the 
women can sew, and a great number of the natives have learned to 




NATIVE FASHION. 







232 


THE OLD AND THE NEW. 



read and write, both in their native tongue and in English. A few 
have even been taught arithmetic and geography. 


THE SAMOANS. 

The Samoans are a race of warriors who have no such mildly civil¬ 
ized ideas as the Tongese. Eor many years the people have engaged m 
civil strife. They were governed by one dynasty for generations untold, 
but finally the islands were invaded by the Tongese and a great warrior 
barely saved them from being overrun by the enemy. His descendants 
and the descendants of the old royal family have been fighting for con¬ 
trol of the whole group of islands ever since. 

Furthermore, this 
state of affairs suits the 
tribal character. So that 
aow and then the adhe¬ 
rents of the ancient cause 
tvill surprise a village of 
:he new, or the king’s 
party, and cutting off as 
many masculine heads as 
they can reach, they will 
rush to their canoes with 
^.hem and paddle back to 
their island, or return to 
their camp and present 
their trophies to their chief. 

If the raid has been more 
successful than usual, and 
besides committing such 
deviltries they have been 
able to cut down the palms 
and bread-fruit trees of 
the rival village, there is 
great rejoicing; the heads are heaped into the middle of the public square 
and every man of the attacking party has become a hero. It frequently 
happens, however, that these raids are rendered harmless through the 
efforts of the women, who have friends and relatives in both the new and 
the old parties, and who therefore give timely warning of the premeditated 
attacks. The old party is distinguished from the new by a piece of red 
material which is twisted in the long hair of each warrior; his enemies 
wear a white cockade. The king’s party seem to have adopted the most 


A SAMOAN GIRL. 









THE SAMOANS 


233 


advanced notions of warfare and have in their possession not only a 
number of magnificent native canoes, but quite a number of stands of 
modern firearms and a standi little schooner which they point to as 



OF THE KING’S PARTY. 

their man of war. They possess a fortress which is deemed almost 
impregnable, and their warriors when on parade are often richly uni¬ 
formed. 













































234 


A TATTOOED WARRIOR. 


A TATTOOED WARRIOR. 

The Samoan warrior is a sight to behold, as a tattooed being. Both 
front and back are covered with the most intricate designs, so that the 
man looks as if he were clothed in a delicate garment of red, blue and 
brown. It takes several months for the whole process to be completed 
— and months of torture they must be. At about the age of seventeen 
the young men are taken in hand by the professional artist who first 
lightly traces the designs upon the skin. He then takes a bone instru¬ 
ment w’th very fine teeth which are covered with coloring matter, places 
it upon the body and drives the teeth through the skin with a mallet. 
The tattooer has instruments of different deo^rees of fineness and the 
precision of his work is simply marvelous. The decorations begin below 
the knee and completely cover the thighs, back and front. All the 
designs are connected by narrow stripes running from the spine around 
the sides. The hair is done 
up in large knots, pitched at 
many different angles, or may 
be shaved from the head so 
as to leave a narrow ridcre 
down the center or a simple 
tuft in front. 

The women mostly cut 
their hair short, although it 
is sometimes left to grow in a head protector, 

bushy mat. It is curly and elastic, and generally decorated with flowers. 
Both sexes, in fact, appear to be passionately fond of flowers. Hair, 
neck, waist and every conceivable portion of the female body is liable 
to be ornamented with separate gems or wreaths; while the men often 
stick a flower jauntilv behind the ear or fasten the petals to the cheek. 
This simple love of flowers is also noticed among other Polynesians. 

The dress is much the same as the Tongese. The men average 
about five feet in height, are erect and proud in their bearing and have 
straight and well rounded limbs; the women are generally slight in 
figure, symmetrical, and easy and graceful in their movements. The 
nose is usually straight and the mouth large with full lips. 

HOUSES AND MATS. 

A Samoan house is a picture set in a wreath of flowers. The 
bread-fruit tree is used in its construction and the thatching is of wild 
sugar cane. The house is as clean as a white sheet of paper, with its 















WAR CHARMS. 


235 


floor of loose pebbles and its surrounding pavement of stones. Air is 
allowed to freely enter, but the sunlight is excluded, as the roof comes 
down to within a few feet of the ground at the eaves. Many mats upon 
the floor, curtains of native cloth, wooden pillows and a chest, with a 
specially large mat which is kept among the rafters for the visitor, about 
include the furnishings. The cooking for the household is done outside, 
which is another source of comfort in the hot weather. Samoa is a land 
of freshness — houses, flowers, people are all fresh, or happy, hospitable 
and clean. One is apt to sink into a sort of stupor during the hot sea¬ 
son, however, or be taken with what the native calls “mat fever”—be 
unable to leave your mat — for it is like one continuous Turkish bath. 

Speaking of the mat — it plays a most important part in the life of 
a Somoan, though not always fresh. When a tribe goes to war the 
first thing to be done is to place the mats in safety, and they are always 
considered the most valuable portion of the booty; and some of them 
are truly superb. Like wine, also, age enhances their value. Mats 
which have been used by chiefs or have been in royal families for a cen¬ 
tury or two are necessarily somewhat soiled but are priceless treasures. 
A bride’s dower would be considered scandalously incomplete without 
a number of ancient family mats. 

Polygamy is practiced, but two wives seldom live in the same house. 
Women also are considered the equals of men, and both sexes join in 
the family labors. 

In the ancient religion of the Samoan, less homage was paid to 
their one great god than to their minor gods of war. They had also 
gods of earthquakes, lightning, rain and hurricanes, and they worshiped 
carved blocks of wood erected to the memory of deceased chiefs and 
warriors. Christianity is now dominant, and most of the adult popula¬ 
tion can read and write. 


TIHITIAN IDOLS. 

The natives of the Society Islands have adopted European habits 
and costumes. They are above middle height, vigorous and graceful 
in bearing, with a bold and open expression of countenance. They 
were formerly great worshipers of idols. Below are some of the objects 
of their former adoration, these particular idols being idols of the 
Tihitians. 

WAR CHARMS. 

The Marquesans are among the least civilized of all the Polyne- 





236 


WAR CHARMS 


sians. They fight each other like wild beasts, having neither govern¬ 
ment nor acknowledged leaders. They have no religion, but are grossly 
superstitious, being firm believers in amulets and charms and fetiches, 
relying upon them particularly as protections and good influences in 
war. These superstitions and the system of tabu seem to be about 
all that lifts them above animal life. The tabooed or privileged classes 
are the “atnas,” who are considered as superior beings; soothsayers, or 



NATIVE IDOLS. 


fetich men ; priests and surgeons; secular rulers and war chiefs. Serv¬ 
ants, dancers and workmen are not tabooed. Women choose their 
husbands and divorce them at will. They appear almost white, and, like 
the men, are easy in their bearing; their complexion is in reality a light 
copper color, but they rub themselves with the root of the papaw tree 
and produce the desired effect. 

The Marquesans are cannibals only when they wish to revenge 





































THE NEW ZEALANDERS. 


237 


themselves upon the body of an enemy. Their habitual food is vege¬ 
tables, with a highly intoxicating native drink, which is made by chewing 
up a kind of root and spewing the pulp, with the accompanying saliva, 
into a vessel where the mess is allowed to ferment. They make a coarse 
cloth out of the bark of the mulberry tree with which they scantily cover 
themselves, and live in small thatched huts erected on stone platforms. 
In similar houses they bury the dead. 


THE NEW ZEALANDERS. 

The Maoris, the primitive inhabitants of New Zealand, are doomed 
to early extinction. Before the introduction of Christianity they were 



TATTOOED MAORIS. 


the most prolific tattooers in the universe, every inch of face and body 
being traced with some line of beauty; and many who have adopted the 
European dress and customs are still left with the indelible marks of 
their heathen life upon them. Since the introduction of a new order of 
things the Maoris have abandoned their fortified villages, situated on the 
summits of high hi*lls, and now live in open towns and farm houses, 
having no longer any fear of being seized and eaten by some fierce rival 
tribe. 






238 


THE NEW ZEALANDERS. 


Nearly every superstition, passion and vice which attach to the most 
dense savagery were formerly traits of the Maoris. Caste, the tabu, 
sorcery, revenge, license except to the married, cruelty to the wife, etc., 
etc., were established among them. A revengeful spirit was considered 
the basis of an admirable character; so much so that after the priest had 
baptized the month-old infant he forced little pebbles down its throat to 
make its heart hard. 

Now all these things are changed. The natives have good houses, 
and good clothes, possess flocks and herds; the majority of them can 
read and write, and belong to Christian churches ; but, from the same gen¬ 
eral causes which are thinning out the Hawaiians the Maoris are rapidly 
following in the footsteps of the extinct Tasmanians. Their traditions 
place their original home among the Samoan or Navigator Islands, the 
emigration taking place some time in the fourteenth century, on account 
of civil war. After a voyage of three thousand miles, the eight hundred 
adventurers, in their twenty large canoes, stepped upon the uninhabited 
Island which their descendants have since called home. 



h 




THE PAPUANS. 

RACE CHARACTERISTICS. 


HE one peculiarity of this race is their hair. It is supposed 
that the Aryans drove the Papuans from the continent, and 
that the refugees formerly occupied the islands of the Pacific 
and Indian oceans; that some strong race forced the Malay¬ 
ans, also, out of Asia, who in turn crowded the Papuans 
entirely off of certain islands, or away from the coasts into the 
mountainous interior. Even then, the one peculiarity of the 
Papuans was their hair, and they were known by the Malayans 
as the papuvah, or crisp-haired people. The Malayan term 
for crisp hair is “rambut pua-pua,” which explains the deriva¬ 
tion of the name more satisfactorily. 

The hair does not spread over the entire head, but appears in small 
tufts, which, if allowed to grow, form spiral ringlets. The civilized tribes 
are apt to keep the hair cropped, the tufts then appearing in little knobs, 
about the size of peas, distributed over the scalp with ridiculous regular¬ 
ity. Among the coast tribes of Papua, or New Guinea, the spiral 
ringlets grow to be so long that they are combed out with a pronged 
bamboo stick into a great bushy mop. These tribes are called “mop- 
headed Papuans.” The bamboo comb or stick, one end of which is 
forked and the other pointed, is elaborately carved at times and is stuck 
obliquely into the hair. A strip of colored calico is fastened to the 
upper end, which hangs from it like a flag. The women do not wear 
this ornament. 

When the hair has grown to the length of a foot or more the Papu¬ 
ans also cut it off close to the head, and make a wig of it by inserting 
the ends of the ringlets into skull caps formed of matting. Some of the 
less-known tribes plait the ringlets over the crown of the head, where 
they form a thick ridge. 

The faces of the Papuans are also covered with a crisp, tufted hair 
The breasts and shoulders of the men are liberally supplied, the tufts 

growing further apart, however, than those on the head and face. 

239 





















































240 


THE PAPUANS. 


Otherwise the Papuans are rather of the negro type, with long and thin 
legs, large hands and feet, wide nostrils and thick lips, receding fore¬ 
heads and a turbid color to the white of the eye. Their general color is 
a chocolate, sometimes closely approaching to black. A disease of a 
leprous nature is very prevalent among all the coast tribes of the Archi¬ 
pelago, especially of Papua. It gives the skin a white tint which 
by some has been considered the natural color. The color is more 
noticeable from the fact that the prevailing shade is this dark brown. 

As to stature, it varies greatly with different tribes. 

Within the space of a hundred miles on the south¬ 
western coast of New Guinea are found tribes 
whose people average as large as Europeans, 
and others who are generally pigmies. The 
Papuan has been described, however, as 
one who excels the Malayan and equals 
the European. The men are, as a rule, 
more comely than the women, although 
the latter, when young, have some¬ 
times beautiful eyes, clear, white 
and regular teeth, happy-look- 
ing, laughing faces, and 
round well-formed limbs. 

Those who come in 
contact with travelers 
soon lose their bashful¬ 
ness, but retain their 
modesty. The more 
diminutive Papuans 
have usually come un¬ 
der the notice of the 
outside world, as they 
have been brought to 
many of the trading 

settlements of the wigs and head ornaments. 

Archipelago to serve as domestics and slaves. They are kindly treated, 
well fed, and soon counteract the impression that ugliness is a rule 
which the race never violates. 

The larger types of Papuans, both men and women, are more apt 
to be disproportionately large above the waist, with the characteristics 
of the negro below. Where the people have been brought up in the 
families of European settlers on the Archipelago, and have escaped the 





TilE PAPUANS. 


241 


exposure of savage life, their skin acquires a delicate tint or glow. As 
with the negroes, their skin is naturally thinner than that of the Euro¬ 
peans, and when it is not burned or weather-beaten the red of the blood 
faintly glows through the transparent covering. The sight is so charm¬ 
ing that even the undemonstrative Malayan speaks of it as sweet 
black, it being also not uncommon among that brown-skinned people. 

MENTAL CONTRASTS. 

The contrast between the Malayan, with his lithe, smooth-skinned 
body and his long face, and the Papuan is further heightened when one 
becomes acquainted with his mental traits. “ The Malayan is cold, quiet, 
undemonstrative and bashful ; the Papuan, impetuous, excitable, warm- 
tempered and noisy. The former, grave and dignified, seldom laughs ; 
the latter is merry and laughter-loving ; the one conceals, the other dis¬ 
plays his emotions.” The Papuan is impatient of restraint, independent 
and stubborn, but lacks that cool power of organization which has 
enabled the Malayans to dispossess him of the choicest spots of the 
Archipelago. In mental character and physical structure, he much 
resembles the Polynesian. 

Toward any who attempt to settle in their territory the Papuans 
evince the most implacable hatred, which fact, with their lack of organiz¬ 
ing and executive force, has led to their virtual extermination in those 
islands which had no mountains to shelter them after they had been 
driven from the coast. This ferocity of character disappears, in a great 
measure, when they even become slaves to the Malayans; for then they 
appear cheerful and obedient and display the side of their dispositions 
which is generally seen in their particular home. New Guinea. 

DRESS AND ORNAMENTS. 

The Papuans, as a race, are not in love with clothing. It usually 
consists of a girdle of bark, leaves or coarse cloth around the loins; with 
a large shell which covers the stomach ; but they profusely decorate and 
ornament their bodies. They cut the skin of the shoulders, breasts and 
thighs in long strips, rubbing into the wound white clay so that the flesh 
below heals in the form of high ridges. Careful investigators into this 
matter of bodily mutilation have concluded that cautery is often employed 
by these savage tribes as a cure for rheumatism, with which they are 
much afflicted, and that the huge cuts on the arms and breasts are 
made to prove the native’s bravery under physical pain. 

The nose is bored and a roll of plantain leaf placed in the hole. The 


242 


DRESS AND ORNAMENTS 



leaf is elastic and the orifice is gradually enlarged, so that when any 
important day comes round the Papuan can place therein the thigh bone 
of a large bird or some other ornament. Filing the front teeth to 
points; dyeing the hair a red or flaxen color by burnt coral mixed 

with sea-water; 
bindingthearms 
tightly with 
plaited rattans; 
breast fringes 
and necklaces 
of twisted cord; 
ear-rings of rat¬ 
tan, worn in one 
ear; smearing 
the forehead, 
and the face un¬ 
der the nose and 
around the chin 


with red clay 
and mud, are 
some of their 
many customs 
which they im¬ 
agine beautify 
their ungainly 
bodies. There 
is no accounting 
for taste, for 
some Papuans, 
who perhaps 
find nothing else 
at hand, orna¬ 
ment the neck, 
arms and waist 
with bangles of 


A PAPUAN WARRIOR. 


ho 


or S 

o 


teeth. 


The Papuans who have been in communication with the Europeans 
of the Indian Archipelago and with the civilized Malayans are, however, 
well housed and decently clothed; have good boats, some knowledge of 
iron and agriculture, and have domesticated the hog and the dog. The 
native forge consists of ‘‘two large bamboos, about four feet long, from 



































































































































































DRESS AND ORNAMENTS, 


243 


which the air is expelled by means of two pistons, with bunches of 
feathers at the end, which are worked like those of hand pumps; and by 
raising- each alternately, a constant current of air is expelled through the 
orifices at the bottom, from which small tubes lead to the fireplace. 
This instrument is identical with the bellows in use amoncr the brown 

o 

races of the Archipelago, from whom it may have been borrowed. A 
stone serves for an anvil; but the natives often have in their possession 
a pig of iron ballast, or a piece of broken anchor, which answers the pur¬ 
pose much better.” 

The chiefs of the northern and more advanced tribes dress in the 
short Malayan drawers and a loose calico coat, with a handkerchief for 



A TEMPLE ON THE COAST. 


a turban. Perhaps, however, it should be added that, when not in the 
presence of strangers, the great men fall back upon the costume of the 
common members of their tribe, a waist-cloth of the bark of the fig, or 
the paper of the mulberry tree beaten out like the bark-cloth of the 
Polynesians. These people also, are not in the habit of covering their 
bodies with great ridges or welts, but are satisfied with a modest style 
of tattooing, which is generally performed by young girls with sharp fish¬ 
bones or needles and soot. This work is often executed with artistic 
skill, the men being favored with figures of crossed swords and knife 
blades. 



































































































































































































;244 


THE GOVERNMENT. 


COAST AND MOUNTAIN TRIBES. 

The natives of New Guinea have been divided by some writers 
into Papuans — those who live on the coast — and Alfores, the interior 
or mountainous tribes. The habits of the Alfores are little known, as 
it is extremely dangerous to venture into their country. They are only 
seen when they emerge from their mountain and forest retreats bearing 
with them to the coast Masooi bark, nutmegs, birds of paradise and 
crown pigeons, which they barter principally for ornaments. To these 
articles several tribes add sugar cane and tobacco, which they cultivate, 
but they, even, never build their houses at a lower level than looo feet 
from the base of the mountains. A more satisfactory explanation of the 
name is that the Portugese term Alforias signifies freedmen; that the 
root fora means out or outside, and therefore the term Alfores 
became naturally applied to the independent tribes who dwelt beyond 
the influence of their coast settlements.” The mountainous tribes have 
never acknowledged any rule but their own, but the coast people are 
governed by “rajahs” and other chiefs appointed by the Dutch govern¬ 
ment. 

When the Dutch first arrived among the islands of the Archipelago 
they found not only a wild people inhabiting the mountains, living in 
‘trees, fighting among themselves and eating each other, but a mari¬ 
time people who showed considerable warlike enterprise. At one time a 
Giumber of the sea-coast tribes combined their forces, and, collecting their 
flotilla of more than a hundred boats, spread terror among the fishermen 
of the Moluccas, who were kidnapped and set upon with particular spite. 
One of the most powerful of the Papuan chiefs was the rajah of Salwatty. 
Seduced, finally, by the bait that he had been fully pardoned for his 
offenses, and also by the present of a bag of Dutch dollars, he fell into 
the toils of the Dutch Governor. This, with other energetic steps 
taken by the government of the Netherlands, seems to have crushed the 
power of the Papuans upon the seas and to have confined it to an occa¬ 
sional expedition by some piratical tribe. 

THE GOVERNMENT. 

Each tribe has its own chief, who acknowledges a nominal alle¬ 
giance to the sultan of Tidore, a native chief who has been given that 
title and an empty fame by the government of the Netherlands; but the 
actual control of a tribe is with a council of elders, the chief merely 
being a leader in war. The duties of the elders are also light, for the 




THE GOVERNMENT. 


245 


coast tribes are noted for their honesty and chastity. They have no 
locks to their doors, and, until the Europeans traders appeared, ardent 
spirits were unknown to them. 

One of their laws is to the effect that if a man burns down his 
neighbor’s house, he becomes a slave. If he wounds another wil¬ 
fully he must give him a slave. If he steals, he must restore the 
property and add a bonus. The chiefs seem to be quite democratic, for 
they often marry into inferior families of their own tribe, paying for the 
wife ten slaves or a just equivalent. The slave is, in fact, the standard 
of value in the western parts of New Guinea, as salt is in Abyssinia, or 
the cow among the Caffres of South Africa. 

The mode in which the chieftainship is conferred is thus described : 
“ When one of the native chiefs dies information of the event is conveyed 
to the sultan by one of the relatives of the deceased, who, at the same 
time, takes with him a present of slaves and birds of paradise as a token 
of fealty. This person is generally named as the successor of the 
deceased and is presented with a yellow kabaya (calico coat), drawers 
and handkerchief. He is bound to pay a yearly tax to the sultan of a 
slave; to reinforce the hongi (the sultan’s tax-collecting flotilla) with 
three vessels and to furnish it with provisions.” 

THEIR IDOL AND EETICHES. 

The Papuans of Dory (a Dutch station on the northwestern, coast) 
consult, but do not worship, an idol, with a very large head covered with 
a handkerchief, and its body clad in calico ; with a long, sharp nose and 
fierce-looking teeth. If they can squat before this figure, whom they 
call Karwar, and place the matter in mind before him, with placid 
feelings, the omen is considered propitious; but should they be seized 
with trepidation, Karwar has decided against their proposed course 
of action. The marriage ceremony consists in appearing before Kar¬ 
war, or sitting down in front of him ; in the presentation by the female 
to the man of her choice, of some tobacco and betel-leaf, and a simple 
joining of hands. Unimpressive though the marriage cermonies are 
among the Papuans, there are no people in the world, in the savage or 
semi-civilized catalogue, with whom the contract is more binding. 

The Papuans generally are fetich worshipers, and have their fetich 
men or soothsayers, as do the Africans. Reptiles are most com¬ 
monly represented, their figures dangling from the roofs of the houses or 
standing out from the posts as ornamental carvings. Bits of bone, 
stones, calico or wood serve as charms to ward off evil influences and 

bring luck. 


246 


FEEDING THE DEAD. 


THE DUK-DUK DANCERS. 



Their ignorance is often used by the chiefs as a means by which to 
establish themselves in authority and extract valuables from the people. 
One of these overawing and tyrannical institutions is found in New 
Britain, east of Papua, which is called Duk-Duk dancing. By the 
payment of a small sum to the chief, certain men are allowed to ^sttire 
themselves in all sorts of fantastic costumes, impersonating devils, and 
going from village to village to frighten the inhabitants into submission 

to their master’s laws. 


DANCING FIENDS. 

children flee to their huts and await 


or punish those charged 
with misconduct dis¬ 
pleasing to him, by ex¬ 
torting money from 
them or giving them 
bodily chastisements. 
The institution is also 
useful in subjecting the 
women and children to 
the rule of the hus¬ 
bands, as to be threat¬ 
ened with the Duk-Duk 
dancers is next to a 
death of terror. So, 
upon their approach, 
men, women and 
their coming with bated breath. 


EEEDING THE DEAD. 

With some of the tribes in the islands of the Archipelago it is 
customary, three or four days after a man dies, for his relatives to 
assemble and beat to pieces his gongs, porcelain ware and all his other 
property, which are looked upon as sacred things, not to be polluted by 
the hands of the living. They then proceed to the corpse, which has 
been lying on a mat, its decomposing parts covered with lime, and offer 
it food. When it refuses to partake, its mouth is filled with eatables 
and wine, until the liquor runs from the body and spreads over the floor. 
These ceremonies are accompanied with violent ravings on the part of 
those assembled, who also drink quantities of arrak as well as native 
liquors, and beat the gongs which they have brought with them. After 
the body has been placed upon the bier and pieces of cloth laid upon it, 




FEEDING THE DEAD. 


247 


indicative of the wealth and standing" of the deceased, the porcelain 
dishes are placed beneath in order that the precious drippings from the 
body may be retained and treasured. Soon afterwards, the corpse is 
brought before the house, and, being supported against a post, attempts 
are made to make it smoke as well as eat, lighted cigars being placed in 
the mouth. At length, when the relatives are convinced that the body 
is really a corpse, they adorn the bier with flags and carry it to the forest. 
The coffin, which is often shaped like a boat, is placed, with the mortal 
remains, upon the top of four posts; this course being taken as a 
precaution against the ravenous appetites of the wild hogs. It is said 
that the final ceremony consists in the planting of a tree near the last rest- 
resting place of the deceased, which is taken part in by the women alone. 

Bodies of the deceased are sometimes wrapped in white calico and 



A BOAT-SHAPED COFFIN. 


deposited in graves four or five feet deep, porcelain dishes being placed 
under the ears. These dishes are obtained from the Chinese and Cera- 
rnese traders, and the prices given for them are sometimes exorbitant. 
With the dishes are also placed arms and ornaments, and if the deceased 
is the head of a family, the idol Karwar, who represents the being that 
brings life and causes death, is brought to the grave, where the most 
awful reproaches are heaped upon it. A roof is then erected over it 
and the wooden image, less than two feet in height, is left to neglect 
and decay. 

WEAPONS AND BOATS. 

The people of Ceram, an island which lies to the northwest of New 













248 


WEAPONS AND BOATS. 


Guinea, are the commercial people of the race. To them come the 
products of both mountain and coast Papuans, such as pearls, tortoise 
shells, ebony, resin and slaves. Establishing themselves on the islands 
of the southwestern coast, they give in exchange hatchets, rice, ele¬ 
phants’ tusks, beads, cotton, knives, earthen and porcelain ware, iron 
pans, brass gongs, copper, tobacco, sago, etc. They remain upon the 
islands or coast four or five months upon the occasion of each visit, as 
the produce is brought in very slowly by the mountaineers, whom they 
consider very valuable customers. The barks which these Papuans 
bring are used both as cosmetics and medicine by the islanders of the 
Archipelago, more particularly those of Java; while many of the live 
cuckatoos and pigeons eventually reach China, India and Europe. 

The natives also obtain from the traders the klewang, or razor 
shaped sword, and the perang, or chopping-knife, whose blade is similar 
in form. The latter may be used either as a domestic instrument or as 
a weapon, and is always worn in a sheath at the waist. The arrows 
which are used in war are furnished with iron heads, but are never 
poisoned. They wield a club, of home make, about four feet in length 
thin and narrow except at one end, which is covered with suggestive 
knobs and corners. The Papuans also have a long gun of bamboo, but 
it is merely used to blow dust into the air, as a signal when they are 
hunting or on the war-path. 

They have their bows and arrows, and harpoons for fishing, and an 
ingenious rattan trap so constructed that the victim can get his bait only 
by swimming through an opening of the elastic sticks which close 
behind him. The bows are often made of bamboo, or betel wood, with 
a string of twisted rattan. A species of flint or sharp pebble, lashed to 
a stick, is the native axe, and it is said that with it they can fell the 
largest trees. 

Their boars are called prahus, or praus, and some of them are 
as long as sixty feet. They are narrow, both ends being flat and broad 
above. The Papuans show their love of ornamentation in their embel- 
lis-hment, many of them being handsomely carved or decorated with 
plaster figures. Usually the rowers stand. Their family boats are 
covered with roofs of marsh flags, under which entire families are 
housed. The sail is made of matting fixed to the side and stern. 
Ordinary canoes are small and light, and can be carried by two men. 
Children even may be seen carrying their tiny boats to and from the 
water. As a rule the vessels of the Papuans are very narrow and unsafe 
for long voyages; being provided with outriggers, however, they are 
safe enough for home use. The result is that their foreign commerce 
is chieflv in the hands of the Chinese. 

0 


TREPANG AND PEARL FISHING, 


249 


TREPANG AND PEARL FISHING. 


The Arm (or Arrou) Islanders, west of New Guinea, have the 
usual passion for ornaments which marks the Papuan, one of their 
most striking’ fashions consisting of twisting their long hair into a knob 
at the back of the head and decorating it with strings of beads, which 
also extend from both ears and meet over the forehead. They also 



IN FULL DRESS. 

wear them around the neck and over the breast, bringing a string or 
two up to the ear from which they sometimes stretch across the fore¬ 
head. Pieces of copper and tin, or a marine plant, are frequently 
drawn through the lobes of the ears. Above the elbow and under the 
knee they wear bands of fine plaited cane, in which various leaves are 
intertwined, while their waist cloths are made of brass wire, fine 
matting and pieces of calico. 













250 


WAYS OF THE TRADER. 


The Arruans live in villages containing a dozen houses or more. 
They cultivate gardens of yams, sweet potatoes and plantains, and 
shoot fish and wild hogs with iron-pointed arrows. In order to obtain 
from traders the weapons, ornaments and households utensils which 
they cannot themselves manufacture, they spend four or five months of 
the year in fishing for trepang (they are called “sea-cucumbers”) and 
diving for pearls. This, in fact, is the occupation of most of the 
Papuan population who live on the islands adjacent to the western 
coast of New Guinea, and a description of how the work progresses 
among one tribe will apply to all the fishermen. 

There is a certain group of small islands, in the midst of which 
are both trepang and oyster banks. At low water, often, canoes are 
not even required to reach the fishing banks, and hundreds of men, 
women and children start from their island homes, wading through the 
ocean toward their destination. The baskets which they carry on 
their backs, and the iron-pointed sticks in their hands, tell the whole 
story of the manner in which they capture the sluggish trepang, which 
lie buried in the sand, their feathered tentacles floating above and 
revealing their whereabouts. The cucumber-shaped fish vary from 
eight inches to two feet in length. In deep water they are often dived 
for, but the larger ones are speared in shallow places. 

Both Malayans and Papuans scour the coasts and coral reefs of 
the Archipelago and Northeastern Australia to satisfy the insatiable 
appetite of the Chinese for this luxury. The fish are afterwards split 
down one side, boiled, pressed, dried and smoked. When the natives 
design to fish at a certain distance they load their families upon theii 
praus, which have great beams; planks which project forward from 
the bows for the use of the sailors; high, curved sterns ; rush sails, which 
fold up like fans and are set upon bamboo masts, each boat being pro¬ 
vided with two rudders and several palm-leaf huts. 

Before the pearl divers start out on their dangerous trips they first 
receive from the traders an advance of cloth, elephant tusks, brass 
gongs, porcelain dishes, etc., in payment for the oysters which they agree 
to furnish at a certain rate per hundred. Once at the oyster bank, the 
diver proceeds bravely with his part of the contract, despite the possi¬ 
bilities of ruptured blood-vessels and ravenous sharks, and the trader trusts 
to fortune that the small black oysters which he brings from the depths 
will contain a generous quantity of pearls. 

WAYS OF THE TRADER. 

The tusks mentioned above are used by the natives at their 


WAYS OF THE TRADER. 


251 


funeral ceremonies, while the dishes are placed upon the graves. These 
articles are so used by the natives of Timorlaut, Serwatty and other 
islands between Papua and Australia, and in consequence no enterpris¬ 
ing trader neglects to lay in a goodly supply when he starts out on his 
usual trips. He also takes with him quantities of palm wine, which is 
an adjunct to not only betrothal and marriage feasts, but to ordinary life. 
P'ollowing is a graphic account of the way in which this trading is some¬ 
times carried on : “ When the boats arrive off the coasts they land the 
articles they have for barter, in small quantities at a time, on the beach, 
when the natives immediately come down with the produce they have 
for sale and place it opposite these goods, pointing to the articles or 
description of articles they wish to obtain in exchange. The trader 
then makes an offer, generally very small at first, which he increases by 
degrees ; if not accepted, which the native signifies by a shake of the 
head, should the trader hesitate a moment about adding more to his 
offer, it is considered sufficient by the native—he snatches it up and 
darts off with it into the jungle, leaving his own goods ; or should he 
consider it too little, he seizes his own property and flies off with equal 
haste, never returning a second time to the same person.” More gen¬ 
erally the traders remain on their boats, which are anchored close to 
the land and push their goods on shore in a small canoe, to which a line 
is attached for the purpose of hauling it back, when the goods have 
been removed and the articles given in exchange have been deposited. 

SOCIAL REGULATIONS. 

The following interesting details are given by a romantic traveler, 
who was furthermore much impressed with the delicacy of the social 
relations which he witnessed among a Papuan tribe inhabiting an 
island off the coast of New Guinea: “No native can take unto himself 
a wife until he has delivered the marriage present. This is not usually 
all paid at once, but by instalments during several years. A father who 
has many daughters becomes a rich man by these presents which he 
receives on their marriage. If a young man wishes to marry and is 
possessed of nothing, it often occurs that he makes a voyage of a year’s 
duration among the other islands. Making known his purpose, he 
demands contributions from those he visits, to enable him to make up 
the instalment of goods which it is necessary to place in the hands of 
the parents. It is not lawful for a man to enter the house of a neighbor 
during his absence, and if anyone offends in this particular, he is obliged 
to pay a piece of cloth or some other goods to the owner of the house. 
The sentence is passed by the elders who openly call upon the offendef 



252 


PIRATES AND COAST TRIBES. . 


to pay the fine, which makes him so ashamed that he either does so or 
immediately leaves the village. The fine is called pakul dende by the 
natives. Should any one even touch the wife of another he must make 
a large atonement for the offense. They pride themselves much in the 
possession of a number of elephant’s tusks and brass gongs; the value 
of the first being determined according to their length and of the latter 
by their weight and circumference.” 

PIRATES AND COAST TRIBES. 

The pirates of the race are the Papuans of the Gulf of Onin, or 
MacCluer’s Inlet, on the western coast. They are not in the habit of 
ranging the coast and neighboring islands for the purpose of plundering 
the boats of native traders, but are on the look-out for slaves, whom they 
sell to the Ceramese and Chinese. The pirates sally out in their fleets 
or flotillas, and when the news gets abroad there is a general stampeding 
of the coast tribes to their strongholds and the interior tribes to their 
mountain homes. This creates a total cessation of trade and a season 
of great depression in legitimate traffic. 

It is stated that the country of the Onins has not been exactly 
located; that they are not cruel by nature, and when they sally out in 
their piratical fleets of a hundred or more vessels, they are moved prin¬ 
cipally by restlessness and a desire to distinguish, or advertise them¬ 
selves. They are really considered as among the most numerous and 
powerful of the Papuan tribes, and probably dwell near the headwaters 
of certain streams which are inaccessible to the boats of the traders, 
although navigable by their own light vessels. They erect a number of 
houses on the shores of the inlet which serve as trading stations and to 
which they annually repair to receive elephants’ tusks and porcelain 
dishes in exchange for their own goods. 

Early travelers to New Guinea, when nothing even was known of 
the habits of the coast tribes, became convinced that they had discovered 
the missing link when they witnessed the great mangrove forests, which 
stretch far out into the ocean, black with human beines, who were dart- 
ing hither and thither among the branches like monkeys. Later, they 
discovered that the coasts were lined with dense forests of these trees, 
whose branches firmly interlaced above, while below their masses of roots 
opposed a breakwater to the tide and gradually new land was formed. 
It is impossible to penetrate this solid band of forest and jungle, grow¬ 
ing out of the sea; and as the natives were obliged to get to the water 
in order to obtain their food, they naturally chose the highway over¬ 
head, which constant travel had made as natural to them as Broadway 


PIRATES AND COAST TRIBES. 


253 


to the New York merchant. Up to date, these Papuans of the coast 
have no other thoroughfare. Since the early voyagers were so astounded 
at the sight, European soldiers have been seen, with muskets on their 
shoulders, steadily making their way over these same mangrove swamps 
and forests. 

1 he people of the southwest coasts seem to combine the most agree¬ 
able Papuan traits, though even they can number only up to ten, and 
reckon time by the arrival and departure of the traders; the traders, in 
turn, regulate their journeys by the dry and rainy seasons, so that, 
although crude, the reckoning is not altogether inaccurate. The coasts 



A SEA COAST HOUSE. 

are lined with limestone rocks, containing many natural caverns, which 
serve as repositories for the bones of their dead. The natives also build 
tombs near their huts, where the bones are placed after the body has 
remained under ground for a year or two. 

The houses of the coast tribes are generally built on poles or piles, 
and so overhang the river or ocean that the water can be seen through 
the bamboo canes which form the floor. The bodies of the houses are 
low, but they have very high roofs, are sometimes over one hundred feet 
long and so divided into apartments as to accommodate many families, 
or an entire tribe. Each family who resides in the building has its own 
door and its cooking-place, at which plantains, fish and turtle-eggs are 




























































































254 


THE PHILIPPINE NEGRITOS. 


prepared. Bananas, cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit and oranges also add materi¬ 
ally to the bill of fare. Many of these houses extend, on their pile 
foundations, out into the sea, and during the high tides the water rises up 
to their floors. The end nearest to the sea is left open on three sides 
and here the male inhabitants are generally to be found, when at home, 
making and repairing their implements and fishing gear, or lying down 
smoking tobacco. Light boxes of palm leaves, ornamented with shells, 
from their clothes presses. Then there are the hunting and fishing gear, 
dishes of earthenware, wooden mortars for husking rice and maize, 
sleeping mats and pillows. The pillows consist of round blocks of wood, 
or stools handsomely carved. 

Besides their good houses, which are connected with the shore by a 
bridge, many villages have an octagonal temple, ornamented within and 
without with figures of animals and various representations. Nothing 
is known of their religion, if they have one. A few of the Papuan tribes 
have the idea that life and death are in the hands of some Supreme 
Being, but nothing in the nature of worship has been discovered. One 
of the largest of these heathen temples has a Dutch flag flying from its 
spire, which was presented to the natives by the authorities of the 
Netherlands, who thus, unknown to the simple Papuans, have received 
a formal acknowledgment of foreign rule. 

TH'E PHILIPPINE NEGRITOS. 

A tribe of Papuan pigmies scarcely more than four feet in height, 
but well-formed and sprightly, inhabit the mountainous regions of the 
Philippine Islands, especially the ranges of Luzon, the largest of the 
group. They are a shade or two lighter than the true negro, and are 
known as the Ahetas by the Malayans of the villages and coasts. 
The Spaniards gave them the name which has most closely clung to 
them. There are no people of the Papuan race, not even the Alfores 
of New Guinea, who evince such fierce and implacable hatred toward 
their ancient enemies, the Malayans, and the world generally. Yet, 
strange to say, when the Negrito is once captured and domesticated, 
taken fairly away from his mountain and forest home and subjected to 
good food and kind treatment, he becomes cheerful and docile, and, 
unlike the Australian, his attacks of homesickness are rare. But while 
a savage his disposition is everything which that name implies. 

REVENGE UPON THE MALAYANS. 

When a warrior of a tribe dies, it is customary for one of his com- 


REVENCxE UPON THE MALAYANS. 


255 


panions to present himself to his friends and the parents of the 
deceased, with his palm-wood bow in his hand and his quiver filled with 
arrows at his back, and swear that he will not return until he has his 
reveng’e upon a Malayan, for the witchcraft of that race brought death 
upon their hero. He promptly starts out on his mission, his first step 
being to climb some high tree, or lurk in some thicket, in order to dis¬ 
cover where his enemies bathe, or the brook from which they collect 
the golden sand. His arrows are poisoned, so that a wound is almost 
instantly fatal. It first produces a violent thirst, and when the victim 
attempts to satisfy his longing for water he dies at once. So the 
Negrito lurks, waiting for his victim, and when he has shot his deadly 
arrow to its mark he flies back to his mountain friends, and the death 
of their warrior is celebrated in songs, dances and rejoicings over the 
fall of another of the hated race. 

HOMELESS VAGABONDS. 

Although the habits of the Negritos have been hidden, not only 
by their unfriendly dispositions, but by the thick forests of their moun¬ 
tain country, two or three Erenchmen, with the finesse of that 
people, have penetrated to their haunts and some of their secrets. 
Homes they have none, but wander about in search of roots, fruits, 
feathered game, deer, wild pigs and buffalo. They use the same 
poisoned arrows upon wild beasts as upon the Malayans, cutting away 
the flesh around the wound and just scorching the meat before it is 
eaten. The game is usually devoured on the spot, as they do not 
desire to be burdened with any unnecessary weight in their wanderings. 
They live together in tribes of fifty or sixty members. During the 
day, the aged and infirm and the children gather round a large fire, 
while the able-bodied are hunting in the woods. If the hunters return 
with sufficient game the party encamp either among the branches of the 
trees or upon the grass ; if it is cold, a huge fire is built, and men, women 
and children roll themselves in the warm ashes preparatory to sleep. 
Such an exposed and irregular life has the effect of soon destroying 
the naturally fair outlines of their bodies, so that the young grow old 
very rapidly and the old are hideous. They take no pains even with 
their hair, merely twisting it into a sort of crown or round mat. Their 
clothing is a belt of bark about eight or ten inches wide. The feature 
of the Negrito which is most striking is his eye, it being as keen as an 
eagle’s, and from it continually shoots a yellow glitter. When he 
speaks he chatters like an ape or chirrups like a bird—so these Frenchmen 
say who nave Heard him talk. His language consists of but a few words, 



256 


THE EXTINCT TASxMANIANS. 


The Negritos, in fact, possess little to boast of. their accomplish^ 
ments being their skill in climbing and with their weapons. They seize 
the trunk with both hands, and, using the feet as a lever, they shoot up 
like monkeys. They are as swift of foot as their arrows in the air. 
Even the children of both sexes, while their parents are in the woods, 
are practicing with their tiny bows and arrows. Neither is their sport 
entirely useless, for more than one diminutive Negrito brings to the 
camp-fire a plump fish which he has shot from the bank of a stream. 
These companies of hunters to which we have referred in the mountain 
forests of the Philippines, accompanied by one or two little dogs of a 
singular breed, which aid the hunters in pursuing the prey after it has 
been wounded. 

Should one of the aged persons left behind be taken with a mortal 
illness, it is not a part of their code that he should be buried dead ; 
but they put him in his grave as expeditiously as possible, and then 
sally forth, with lance and arrow, to slay—not necessarily a Malayan — 
but anything which may come in their way, whether man, stag, wild 
hog or buffalo. A warrior’s death, however, must be avenged with the 
blood of a Malayan. When thus in quest of an expiatory victim, it is 
said, they take the precaution of breaking off the young shoots of the 
shrubs, as they pass by, and leave the broken ends hanging in the 
direction of their roots, for the purpose of warning neighbors and 
travelers to shun the path they are taking; for if one of their own 
people should come across the avengers, they are bound to kill him. 
Their code demands it. Notwithstanding this apparently heartless 
haste in burying the bodies of the aged before the breath is fairly out 
of them, great respect is shown them while living, the native assemblies 
being always governed by one of the elders. 

The Negritos are most fickle in their manner of worship, bowing 
down to a tree or a rock in which they fancy they see something 
mysterious ; but only for a day, or until they discover something else 
which seems more worthy of their homage. They revere the dead 
and pay them a sort of worship by decorating their graves, for many 
successive years, with offerings of tobacco or betel. The Negritos, 
who inhabit some of the smaller islands of the Philippines, are more 
mild than those of Luzon, and more resemble the Alfores of the 
islands further south, in that they trade with the Malayans of the coast, 
exchanging wax and deer’s horns for chopping-knives and tobacco. 

THE EXTINCT TASMANIANS. 

Tasmania, (formerly Van Diemens land) is about 120 miles south- 




THE EXTINCT TASMANIANS. 


257 


east of Australia, and in 1804 was colonized by Great Britain as a con¬ 
vict station. At this time the inhabitants numbered about three thou¬ 
sand. The men averaged about five feet in height and the women, of 
course, less. Their eyes were usually dark brown, with jet-black pupils; 
hair crisp or woolly; forehead high and narrow; limbs lean and muscular; 
feet flat and turned inward. They seldom even built huts, the women 
being merely beasts of burden as they moved from one part of the island 
to the other, being especially charged with the carrying of fire. In 
summer they went naked ; in winter covered with a kangaroo or opossum 
skin. These animals, with shell fish and a prolific fungus which grows 
near the roots of decayed trees, formed their chief articles of diet. 

They were ignorant, dirty and lazy ; but knew enough to rebel with 
spear and waddy when their women and their hunting grounds were 
seized upon by savage convicts. In many cases their revenge was 
awful, but their spears and short wooden clubs were powerless against 
the improved firearms of the settlers who were now obliged to shoot 
them down in self-defence. For many years the Black War continued, 
until the desperate natives were reduced to a few hundred, when an 
attempt was made by means of a cordon extending across the island, 
and gradually closing in toward the southeast, to drive them into 
Tasman’s peninsula. But the wild and mountainous condition of the 
country rendered the attempt ridiculously futile, and the great expense 
which the colony had already incurred induced it to adopt a pacific 
policy. 

A builder, named Robinson, and a resident of Hobart’s Town, who 
was well acquainted with the habits and language of the aborigines, took 
with him a native woman as guide, and, venturing unarmed into their 
very midst, so worked upon their better natures as to peaceably 
bri no* the 210 men, women and children who then remained into that 
city, this was accomplished only after many months of patience and 
self-denial. This was-in 1835. From Hobart’s Town, the capital, they 
were removed to Flinder’s Island, after Mr. Robinson had labored four 
or five years more in their behalf. 

In 1847 the Tasmanians, who had dwindled to forty-five, were again 
moved, being settled in the vicinity of Hobart’s Town, where, notwith¬ 
standing they continued to be kindly treated, their candle of life flickered 
more and more. No children were born among them for many years. 
In 1865 only six of the tribe remained. 

Soon afterwards at a ball given at Government House, Hobart’s 
Town, there were present neatly dressed in evening costume one old 
man and three old women, all that remained of the once-dreaded 
savages of Tasmania. 


258 


THE EXTINCT TASMANIANS 



THE LAST OF THE TASMANIANS 



















THE EXTINCT TASMANIANS. 


259 


In 1874 this one old woman of seventy-one years, Lidgiwidgi 
Tancaninni, queen of the Tasmanians, was the last surviving native. 
Five times she had been married, and each time to a king. Living in 
the house of the government inspector, she was known and pitied by all 
the white population of the island, being called Lalla Rookh. She 
received a small pension from the British government. But kindness 
and pity could not keep her poor paralytic frame from the grave, and 
she has followed her people and the great silent majority. 

THE SEMANGS. 


Papuan tribes have been discovered for a certainty in central por¬ 
tions of the Malayan Peninsula, at about the locality of the island of 



TWO VIEWS OF THE QUEEN. 


Penang, and extending from the mountains to the eastern coast. 

They are becoming more and more timid, as years go by, and more 
difficult of access, hiding as they do in the mountains and jungles 

and only venturing forth to barter with the Malayans for arms, knives, 
tobacco and cloth. They bring with them elephants’ tusks, wax, woods, 
gum and canes, of whose value they know little. But while they are 
often imposed upon by the crafty Malayans they, in turn, palm off upon 
their more civilized neighbors certain herbs and shrubs which they 
pretend are sure cures for headaches and other complaints. 











26 o 


THE SEMANGS. 


The Malayans have no traditions of the origin of these Papuan 
tribes and designate them according to the localities in which they are 
found, as Semangs of the plain, of the hills and of the jungles. The 
native food consists of birds, rats, monkeys, rhinoceri and elephants, 
with occasional supplies of rice or salt from the coast. Small game they 
kill with the sumpit, a blow pipe through which they project poisoned 
darts. Although they occasionally obtain improved weapons they 
still rely upon the bow, the spear and native ingenuity for their principal 
supply of food. They, in turn, seldom suffer from beasts of prey, being 
protected, as much as anything, by their sharp eyes and wonderful 
dexterity in climbing trees. 

Many stories are told of their coolness and ingenuity in the capture 
of the elephant and the rhinoceros, two of which will serve to illustrate: 
A party which seek the elephant finally spy the huge beast upon a hill. 

One of their number follows him, 
being armed with a pointed bamboo 
stick, which has been hardened by 
fire and dipped in poison. As the 
elephant slowly descends the hill, 
lifting his great feet cautiously from 
the ground, the Semang creeps up 
behind and forces his stick into the 
sole with all his strength. Con¬ 
stant practice has made the thrust 
i so effectual as usually to lame the 
elephant and cause him to fall. 
The balance of the party, who are 
waiting for this, rush upon the beast 
with their spears and pointed sticks, 
and, dancing around like madmen, 
thrusting here and there, soon des¬ 
patch him. The natives capture the rhinoceros by approaching him 
while he is peacefully reposing in a bed of soft mud, and, by building 
a fire over him, actually harden it so effectually that he is securely 
imprisoned and despatched at their leisure. His snout horn is carefully 
preserved for the Malayans, who believe possesses medicinal qualities. 

The Semangs share their property in common, being also governed 
by chiefs. They are said to worship the sun. Their plan of naming chil¬ 
dren is but an evidence of the paucity of their language, curious though 
it is. They are called after particular trees ; if a child is born under or 
near a cocoa-nut, or any tree in the forest, it is named accordingly. 



A NEW IRELAND BOY, 






THE SEMANGS. 


261 


It has been asserted by intelligent natives of Anam that woolly¬ 
haired tribes still exist in the mountains which are situated in the 
eastern part of Cochin China. They are considered the aborigines of 
the country, and have been described as very black and resembling the 
Caffres of Africa in their general features, 
the noiThwest of the Malay Peninsula, no 
one claims to be aware of the existence of 
any natives who could be tortured into the 
semblance of Papuans. 

From the foregoing it is evident that the 
race is found in its greater purity in New 
Guinea and in the Nigritoes of the Philip¬ 
pines, whose physical and mental character¬ 
istics are the same as those of the interior 
tribes of Papua, the Moluccas and other 
neighboring islands ; that the blood of the 
race is sprinkled from Polynesia to the Malay 
Peninsula, and from the lower Archipelago 
to the Philippines, although the Papuans 
as a distinctive people have been confined to a comparatively small 
area. They have mixed with the Malayans, with the Polynesians, 
and, to some extent, with the Australians. An example of the 
latter combination may be found in the natives of New Ireland, 
east of Papua. Their villages and their canoes are neat but both 
small. Dogs and pigs are their only large animals, and the turtle 
would nearly complete the list. Dense forests of huge trees cover 
the lofty hills of the island ; the fancy woods which the natives obtain 
from them and beautiful shells from the tortoises form their chief reli¬ 
ance in trade. These New Irelanders are chiefly interesting, however, 
as the connecting link between races. In the illustrations of the two 
types which are given, it will be observed that the boy has more of the 
neofro blood and the man of the Australian; in fact the natives of the 
island are often called Australian negroes. 

Tribes, also, so closely related to the Australians as to be classed 
with them are found in the New Hebrides and Solomon’s Islands, east 
of Papua, as in New Guinea itself There is every probability that the 
spread of population was from Papua and that there is little Malayan 
blood in the composition of the Australian. The islands in the natural 
line of travel from Papua to Australia are inhabited not only by distinct 
types of both Papuans and Malayans, but by those composite tribes who 
present the most degraded representatives of human kind. They are 


Toward Central India, to 



A NEW IRELANDER. 




262 


THE SEMANGS. 


filthy in the extreme and evince little desire or aptitude for improve¬ 
ment. In fact, they conform to the general law that the best foundations 
upon which to build characters and states are sharply defined race char¬ 
acteristics. We have Malayan and negro kingdoms, with strong individ¬ 
ualities, but it is difficult to conceive of a powerful nation of quadroons 
or a mixed Chinese and English race. In the course of ages the giant 
may evolve by the intermixture of the world’s families, but the average 
experience has been that the crossing of races results in the production 
of a weaker type than either of the originals. 



f 





























n 



THE AUSTRALIANS. 


P TO the present time a large portion of the central regions of 
Australia has not been explored. It is hard to realize that 
from the center of the island continent one could travel a 
thousand miles in any direction without reaching the sea 
coast. And yet it is not distance alone which has deterred 
the bold explorers of the world from penetrating every nook 
of the unknown interior. So far as is known, the distressing 
spectacle is presented of over a million square miles of earth 
which is undrained by any system of rivers or lakes. The 
great interior of the continent is a depressed table land, and 
even here, from the minor explorations which have been made, it is 
evident there can be no reservoirs for the supply of rivers, since the 
evaporation and absorption of water are astonishing in their rapidity. All 
the supply of water which the traveler can hope to obtain, except that 
which he takes with him, must be wrested from the wild and emaciated 
native, who has been driven from the coast regions, and guards his 
water pits as jealously as any denizen of the great Sahara desert. 
The first expeditions which penetrated Central Australia, in spite of 
the terrible suffering and often death of their participants, owed their 
partial success to the native wells. They are little more than holes 
sunk in the sand with a slight curve, which both shields them from the 
burning sun and hides them from observation. The instinct which is 
thus shown in striking water goes far beyond all the knowledge and 
experience of the European mind. Colonel Warburton, an English 
traveler, who nearly lost his life in crossing the western interior of the 
continent, admits that out of fifty attempts which his party made to 
find water, they were successful in but one case. They were therefore 
obliged to systematically hunt for natives, and if they were fortunate 
enough to capture them and detain them, they were sometimes forced to 
reveal the presence of the treasured wells. In a country where game 
is scarce, and where the native is engaged in a constant struggle with 
nature, he is apt to be timid when he comes in contact with man. The 

263 
































THE AUSTRALIANS. 


264 

population is sparse, and such of the interior Australians as travelers 
have seen, are as weak, forlorn and cowardly objects as can be found in 
savage life. They have not even been hardened by contact with beasts 
of prey, for such do not exist in Australia. Therefore neither savage 
nor beast will lie in the way of the explorer. Yet he has another fearful 
obstacle to overcome. 


THE GREAT INLAND ELOOD-BREEDER. 



Australia is both the land of drought and the land of floods. The 
cool currents from the Antarctic regions are constantly coming up 

from the south and 


findiim no 

O 


o^reat 

O 


mountain chains to 
bar their course, 
spread over the hot 
land as far inward 
as they can. The 
northwest mon¬ 
soons from the In¬ 
dian ocean blow on 
the coast four 
months of the year, 
penetrating far in¬ 


land, 
b e i n Of 

O 


their force 
seen in 
ribbed waves of 
sand over five hun¬ 
dred miles from the 
seashore. In ex¬ 
treme droimhts 

O 


these adverse cur¬ 
rents of air may 
meet ; one laden 
with the warm 
vapors of the In¬ 
dian Ocean, the 
other called also far inland, with its cool breath, to take the place of the 
more rarified atmosphere of the continent. Like two immeasurable seas 
they come together, and the warm vapors of the ocean are condensed 
into resistless floods. They pour down upon the plain in such torrents 
that the parched land is powerless to evaporate them, even if the cool 


AN AUSTRALIAN SAVAGE. 
















THE GkEAT INLAND FLOOD-BREEDER. 


265 

southern breeze were not at its work of gigantic condensation. There 
are no large rivers to draw off the waters of the plains, and, even when 
the monsoon has ceased to blow, this alternate evaporation and the con¬ 
densation by the southern currents may go on indefinitely. Then may 
come another year or several years of drought, and a year or years of 
fioods. The tremendous overflow spreads over the plain and surges 
over the country until it even reaches the slight water sheds of the coasts. 

In Western Australia the bed of the Swan River has, perhaps, 
been so long dry that the footprints of explorers who have crossed it 
three years previously may still be seen in the sand ; but with the 
coming of this deluge it is expanded into a seething lagoon or chain 
of lakes, which is again evaporated and absorbed like magic. A 
traveler tells a story which graphically illustrates the sudden onslaught 
of the waters. With a flock of sheep, he was encamped on the bed 
of a river which was a quarter of a mile wide, but which, by drought, 
had been diminished to a little brook. On a remarkably hot afternoon, 
a distant rushing sound became audible, and on looking up the dry 
reach, his party saw a solid wall of water bearing down upon them. 
There was only just time to get the sheep across before the whole bed 
of the river became a turbid sheet of water. In half an hour it was 
saddle-flap deep, and at daylight, on the following morning, neither 
man nor horse could have crossed without danger. This sudden rise was 
occasioned by a rain on its tributary several hundred miles away. 
Another peculiarity of so-called Australian rivers is that when full of 
water, without apparent warning, they will drop into a marsh or quick¬ 
sand and entirely disappear. These uncertainties of water supply and 
horrors of sudden floods obviously explain the mystery which surrounds 
the fate of more than one exploring party which has been swallowed 
up in Central and Western Australia. 

INTERIOR SAVAGES. 

The latest explorations into the interior of tne continent dispel 
former delusions either of a great inland sea, or a uniform desert. Por¬ 
tions of the very central regions are watered by springs, either issuing 
from the surface of the plains or from the tops of curious conical emi¬ 
nences, evidently of volcanic origin; these eminences varying from the 
size of a beehive to a considerable hill. Certain districts are found 
thickly grassed and watered by streams. Tracts of country, described 
by previous explorers as sandy wastes, were found clad in verdure ; where 
one party almost perished of thirst, another was almost overwhelmed by 
a flood. Whether these natural obstacles to colonization will ever be 


266 


Native superj^tItions. 


surmounted remains to be seen; it may be that later investigation will 
prove that there are extensive tracts of country which are permanently 
watered, permanently drained, and which escape the desolations of the 
inland floods. But the picture which is drawn of the natives of Cen¬ 
tral Australia is sufficiently dreary to deter any but those of the strong¬ 
est hearts: Wanderinor hundreds of miles from one well in the sandhills 

O 

to another, from one dried-up water hole to another, brackish and salt. 
One small party is enough for any one camp, and the camps are too far 
apart for any gathering or increase into what can be called a tribe. They 
are here a miserable, weak race, struggling hard for existence in dry 
seasons and camping listlessly upon the lakes, lagoons and marshes in 
the wet seasons. They eat more rats than kangaroos in the plains, and 
more frogs than fish on the river banks. No equal tract of country in 
almost any climate supports so few men. The so-called deserts of Africa 
are richer in all life, vegetable, animal and human, beyond all compari¬ 
son.” Over this vast table-land, now a desert and now a diversified 
plain, the aborigines wander, entirely naked, their lives so uncertain 
that they do not even build huts but are content with the shelter of 
large boughs or strips of bark. These rude shelters are called “mimis,” 
and are usually made of the gum-tree bark. Under them they creep 
at night, their spears and war weapons stuck around, and throw them¬ 
selves upon the bare ground or upon a few opossum skins sewn together 
with kangaroo sinews. Even rats which they catch are often eaten raw, 
and if they discover a collection of fat grubs in a rotten tree, they have 
found a luxury indeed. The necessities of life have made it more neces 
sary for the people of the interior to harmonize; therefore there is more 
similarity in their language than in that of the Eastern and coast tribes, 
who are both civilized and quarrelsome. The natives of the interior 
are not even intelligent enough to have any general mythology or super¬ 
stition. They have some faint idea that some time, somehow, some huge 
animal which their forefathers had faintly remembered to have heard 
about from their forefathers would reappear and destroy the wicked. 

NATIVE SUPERSTITIONS. 

Those tribes who have obtained the ghost of ideas from white men 
are said to believe in good and bad spirits and have a notion that the 
white men are the reanimated souls of blacks. This superstition, which, 
prevails among some of the Eastern and Southern tribes, has been the 
means of saving travelers from a great many hardships. One black 
will take you for “his father jumped-up white man; ” or, translated from 


NATIVE SUPERSTITION. 


267 


their language not so literally, “his father resurrected as a white man 
while another may cordially receive your companion, suffering likewise 
with hunger and thirst, as his deceased brother. A tale is told which is 
even an improvement on this: A party of convicts once escaped from 
Fort Phillip, Victoria, and, wandering far into the country, all perished 
but one man. In his weary journeyings, nearly dead from exhaustion 
and lack of food and water, he found a grave with the spears of the 
deceased placed thereon. These he took, intending to use them in self- 
defence ; but they answered a far different purpose, for, meeting with 
some members of the tribe who had thus buried their warrior, they 
recognized his weapons, and conceived the stranger to be their “ hon¬ 
ored chief jumped-up white man.” The convict was adopted and lived 
with the tribe thirty years. 

If one is not in bodily peril it is often quite inconvenient to be taken 
for the blood relation of a large family of Australians. The natives are 
unmistakably in earnest, and the women are especially demonstrative. 
Tears stream down their cheeks as they advance to meet a father, hus¬ 
band or brother. The oldest and most filthy of them all throws her 
arms around his body and rests her head upon his breast, then kisses 
him upon each cheek; others kneel crying at his feet. The men encircle 
him with their arms, put their right hands against his right knee and 
lean their greasy breasts against him. Even the young children are 
brought to meet their newly-found relative, kicking and screaming with 
fright at the sight of so strange a man. At length they are quieted and 
proceed to put their fingers in their mouths and smear over every ex¬ 
posed part of his body to see if it is painted. When asked how it is 
that the “ jumped-up white man” does not know his relatives, at sight, 
they express the most unbounded surprise themselves, as they pretend 
to recognize their lost one by some similarity of form or expression in 
the person of the stranger. Before the black fellow takes a white body 
unto himself he is said to live in the clouds, with plenty to eat and drink, 
being in charge of a father and three male children. When the black 
fellow so desires he is let down by a rope to visit the world below. Some 
have fixed upon this father as the Creator of the world ; others assert 
that all things were made with one stroke of the tail of a large moun- 
tain serpent. 

The natives thoroughly dread a “ devil-devil,” or “ bunyip,” who must 
be a superlative sort of an Evil One, and would not dare to venture 
out after nieht-fall unless armed with fire-sticks. The Australian native 
sees the “boyl-yas,” or bad spirits sitting astride the limbs of trees with 
their crooked legs dangling down, or paddling about in a canoe seek- 


268 


HOW THEY LOOK. 


ing human victims. There is also the sprite which gives the black fellow 
bad dreams. All that any of them really want is a light and if they can¬ 
not get that they will have the black fellow ; so after dark he is always 
provided with a fire stick, which, in case the sprite appears, he twirls 
around his head and throws at him. The water spirits, if not driven 
away, are particularly fond of inoculating the blacks with lingering dis¬ 
eases. To expel these they have sorcerers who usually work in pairs or 
in threes, one working over the affected part and the other singing and 
dancing. A stone is extracted from the diseased member and hastily 
buried out of sight, after which with much howling and dancing about, 
the sorcerers rush toward the water driving the evil spirit before them. 

Neither are the Australians’ theories regarding the heavenly bodies 
and natural phenomena the most advanced. They think the sun and 
moon are thrown up into the sky by certain tribes, and when they come 
down they are caught by other tribes so that they cannot be hurt. The 
moon is a human being whom they meet, sometimes, in their hunting 
excursions. On Mount Elliott, Queensland, is a large space devoid of 
vegetation, which the moon brought to this pass by throwing its boome¬ 
rang around it. The falling stars are danger signals ; comets are ghosts, 
of their tribe. An eclipse is caused by some mischievous member of a 
tribe who places a sheet of bark before the sun to frighten the rest. 
This explanation, no doubt, is sometimes given to ease their own minds 
of terror ; but they try to charm away the darkness by all sorts of incan¬ 
tations. The rainbow blesses them by pointing to the sheet of water 
into which it is raining fish, or to a rich collection of roots or grubs. It 
is not to be understood that these ideas are uniformly held by the Aus¬ 
tralians— there is no uniformity in any of their beliefs. 

HOW THEY LOOK. 

The Australian natives are always called “blacks,” but when freed 
from the grease, charcoal, ochre and dirt with which they adorn them¬ 
selves they are often found to be of a purplish-copper hue. Their hair 
is curly, but not crisped like the wool of a negro, while the beards of 
the men are wiry and abundant; indeed the whole body is often covered 
with hair. These features, with their dark hazel eyes, the white being 
bloodshot and tinged with yellow, give them a peculiarly ferocious ap¬ 
pearance. Their faces are well developed, and broad at the base ; they 
have high cheek bones, projecting brows, broad depressed noses (so 
fashioned in infancy), large but pleasant mouths, beautiful teeth 
and retreating chins. They are deficient in muscularity, but capable 



now THEY LOOK 


269 


of great endurance. They are seldom corpulent, although the 
natural deficiency Is counterbalanced by the artificial oils which 
they rub over their bodies. A peculiar mode of greasing themselves, 
which Is also suggestive of their indolent natures. Is to stand 
in the scorching sun with the head covered with the entrails of a fish. 



AUSTRALIAN BOOMERANGS. 


























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































270 


AUSTRALIAN WEAPONS. 


If they are very civilized they are wrapped around with opossum 
skins, or with blankets made by beating out the inner bark of the tea 
tree; if they are near a settlement they wear sheepskins or blankets, 
distributed by the townsmen. The warrior marks every rib in his body 
with a stripe of white ochre, so that in the dusk or by the light of the 
moon he looks like an animated skeleton. On festive occasions the 
hair is plastered with bright red ochre, and decorated with feathers. 
Some tribes wear a long kangaroo bone thrust through a hole in the 
cartilage of the nose; or carry their clay pipes in this fashion. Both 
sexes gash the flesh of their bodies with shells and stuff the cuts with 
clay, so that they will heal in ridges, which are considered the height of 
fashion. 

But decorated, or undecorated, the poor “gin,” or wife, who per¬ 
haps has merely been carried away bodily when her lord considered it 
time to marry her, has now to stand all the burdens ot the day, 
besides being rapped by her husband’s waddy (or club) upon every 
possible occasion. The waddy, in fact, seems to be used indiscrimi¬ 
nately to brain a wild dog, or maim a refractory “gin.” 

AUSTRALIAN WEAPONS. 

The other principal weapons of the Australian are the spear and 
the boomerang. The former weapon they will fling to a distance of 
eighty yards with the greatest precision. Its construction depends 
upon whether it is to be cast from the wimmera (throwing stick) or 
launched from the hand ; if it is cast from the former it is generally 
made of reed, tipped with hard wood, ending in a huge shark’s tooth. 
The boomerang is one of the most puzzling and effective weapons 
ever invented by a savage. It is indigenous to Australia, and it is 
one of the mysteries of the world how such a people ever conceived 
it. A very hard piece of wood, about two feet long, two and a half inches 
wide and one-eighth of an inch thick, is bent to a slight curve. Its ends 
are rounded, one side being convex and the other flat. The native takes 
hold of one end, with the convex edge forward and the flat side up, 
rapidly recedes a few paces, wheels half round and dashes the boom¬ 
erang downward, so that it meets the ground at a few yards’ distance 
from the feet. A rotary motion is imparted to the weapon as its 
rounded side strikes the ground, and rising with a loud, whirring sound, 
it performs a circuit of at least one hundred yards and falls behind the 
projector. The boomerang (the name of which is a fair representation 
of the noise it makes when it first rises into the air) is used in war or 


AUSTRALIAN WEAPONS. 


271 


in the chase; although for hunting purposes it is often constructed so 
as not to recoil. Except in the extreme north, the bow is quite 
unknown in Australia. Here the natives, who are very warlike, use 
long clumsy bows made of bamboo. The Northern Australians at one 
time also fashioned a sword out of wood, which was shaped something 
like a cutlass. A wooden sword has not a very warlike ring when 
sounded merely with the mouth, but in reality is no infant’s weapon. It 
is made of the hardest wood, five feet long, five inches broad and 
correspondingly thick, with a very small handle. The warrior’s shield 
is long and light, and is used as a support for this log of a sword. This 
holds the weapon above his head, from which elevation it descends upon 
the body of the adversary like a bar of iron. Their lance was a long, 
straight pole, sharp at one end and hardened by heat. When the 
Australian lives near a European settlement, he generally obtains an 
iron hatchet or tomahawk, which he finds of great use in notching the 
trunks of trees so that he may climb them in quest of ’possums. His 
stone hatchet he uses to chop out his canoe from the trunk of a tree or 
in cutting spear shafts. 

AETER HIS EOOD. 

If he is after a ’possum, he also takes his waddy with him, 
with which he knocks his sleepy game on the head, after he has climbed 
up the big gum-tree and cut him out of the hollow trunk. Wreathing 
his head with grasses and weeds, throwing aside all encumbrances, and 
gliding out into the water, he reaches gently underneath and pulls the 
wild duck down by the legs. Or he captures a snake or a lizard, or the 
larvae of some white ants, or the huge cream-colored maggot found in 
the bark of the swamp oak. All will greatly depend upon his mood; 
whether he is a lazy Australian or not, and also upon his habitat. 
Disgusting as the latter article of food seems, famished European 
explorers who have been forced to that diet pronounce it not unpal¬ 
atable. 

While searching for his opossum the native hunter is apt to come 
across a little bear, or sloth, not bigger than a kitten, especially if he 
has worked his way up a pretty high tree. The innocent looking little 
beast has a round, bold face, small black eyes and square hairy ears, and 
her ridiculous gravity is made more laughable by the absence of a tail. 
But her fiesh is good, though it has all the flavor of bear meat, and if 
the blackfellow does not want to eat his captive with the cubs which 
are clinging to her back, he will take the whole colony in to the nearest 
white settlement and dispose of the animals for pets. The koala has a 


272 


AFTER HIS FOOD. 


hide like iron, and as it is always away up in the world, it is almost 
useless to attempt to bring the game down with shot; it is also nocturnal: 
so that the native has almost a monopoly on the koala. Much more 
exciting than climbing after the sleepy Australian bear is the hunt after 
the kangaroo, who booms over the ground with hops of from fifteen feet 
to twice that distance. Large numbers of the natives gather with their 
spears and clubs, and then close in upon a lot, having drawn a circle 
around them. If the hunters start up a brush kangaroo, he is more 
quickly brought to a stand. When the awkward marsupial gets his 
back up against a tree, the native is careful not to get too near the 
powerful claws of his hind feet, but while one engages his attention in 
front another steps quietly behind and brains him with a club. The 
capture of a “paddy melon” (a kangaroo not larger than a rabbit) is 
attended with great sport but no danger; and as the blackfellow s 
object is to obtain some tender soup meat from the tail and hams of the 
animal, he usually chooses the easier task. 

Unless very hungry indeed the native does not seek the dingo, 
or native Australian dog, for food. If he is in a sheep country, he may 
bring in a few of the yellow wolfish bodies to the squatter, and claim his 
reward; they are very destructive to sheep, their bite being to them 
deadly poison. The little brutes will not attack a live man, but are as 
eager as vultures after a dead one. They are supposed to ha^'^e origi¬ 
nated in Asia and followed the black man to Australia. 

One of the most singular ways, however, which the Australian has 
of getting something to eat is to burrow for it, like a mole. This he 
often does in his search after the egg of the jungle fowl. Down into 
the huge mound he goes, digging with his hands and throwing the dirt 
between his legs, to the depth of ten feet. The bird has gone through 
with much the same performance, except she stood on one leg and kicked 
the leaves, grass and earth behind her, and after she had deposited the 
egg at the bottom, threw back the diggings, and smoothed and rounded 
over the top of the mound. The native may dive after the egg half a 
dozen times, but if he is not stilled or completely exhausted, he eventually 
brings up the treasure. These mounds are sometimes as large as a 
good-sized hut. They are found mostly in Northern Australia, and 
were at first supposed to be the burial grounds of savages, the existence 
of which in the whole continent is denied. 

Our savage who has been hunting and grubbing may be the head 
warrior or chief of a tribe, in which case he makes all the combinations. 
A long spear and an oval shaped shield, grotesquely stained with red 
and white clay and charcoal are in one hand; a little dead possum and 


AFTER TILS FOOD, 


273 



A tomahawk swing down in the other ; boomerangs and a waddy are 
fastened across his shoulders by a broad piece of kangaroo skin and a red¬ 
tailed macaw’s feather is stuck in his matted hair. His beard is white, 
his dark eyes are 
sunk deep in his 
head and notwith¬ 
standing all, when 
he talks, a pleas¬ 
ant smile flickers 
over his face, his 
white teeth gleam 
and he is not so 
very repulsive. 

But he shall be fol¬ 
io w e d a 1 i 111 e 
further. He has 
carved a rude 
figure upon his 
shield—possibly 
the artistic talents 
of his ancestors 
cropping out in 
his generation. 

In certain cav¬ 
erns on the west¬ 
ern coast of the 
continent an in¬ 
teresting collec¬ 
tion of drawing or 
paintings has been 
discovered. The 
work is done in 
red, blue and yel- 
low, probably 
painted with the 
same kind of clays 
which the natives 
use upon their 
bodies, w h e t h er 
aliveordead. on the hunt. 

1 he figures represent turtles, porpoises, human hands and gigantic kan* 








































































































AFTER HIS FOOD 


274 


garoos. Some of the figures are draped in a long tunic. Others are dressed 
in robes reaching to the feet, the face covered with a white drapery, 
with holes left for the eyes and a double ring around the head. A 



variety of characters were also employed, not unlike those used by the 
natives of the Indian Archipelago. Some of the figures seem to have 
head-dresses not unlike helmets. Near one of these caves is the profile of 





















































































































































































































AFTER HIS FOOD. 


275 


a foreign gentleman, deeply cut and well executed. Whether these 
crude works of art were executed by the aborigines’ of the island who, 
undoubtedly, came from the northwest, 27/^ the East India islands; or 
whether they are evidences of the early explorations of Chinese and 
Malayan navigators cannot be determined. We are told that in quite 
ancient times the Chinese were acquainted with these shores, and we 
know that the Siamese were as bold navigators as they. 

NATIVE DANCES. 

Or is it possible that the ancient Phoenicians extended their name 
to the wild coasts of Australia, and left there these mementoes, as well 
as a dance which is called the corrobbary or corroboree. The perform¬ 
ances which take place upon the occasion of this dance are said^ in fact, 
to be nearly allied to the ancient religious rites of Assyria and Phoenicia. 
The performers are divided into five distinct classes, the greater body 
comprising about twenty-five young men, including five or six boys, 
whose faces and ribs are traced with white paint. Tied to their legs are 
bunches of gum leaves, upon which they beat as they stamp around. 
On each side of the young men stand two groups of girls clad only in 
scant feather skirts, beating time with bunches of leaves and by stamp¬ 
ing their feet. Two characters decorated with fantastic feather head¬ 
dresses, painted like the dancers, are followed by a savage who carries a 
long spear, from the top of which hangs a bunch of feathers. At last 
come two elderly men beating on rude instruments and singing or gab¬ 
bling in concert. The spearman seems to be the leader or director of 
ceremonies, and the spectators Hock around the elderly singers and shout 
their applause as the dance progresses. The music is furnished by the 
singers, by two men who rattle some sticks together, by the young men ' 
and maidens with their gum leaves, by the waving of those grotesque 
head-pieces which are tipped with feathers, and by the regular stamp 
of all those who take part in the performance. When the young men 
have danced before the two old men and sat down, to rounds of applause, 
the men with the spear and the head-dresses take their turn. All seem 
now and then to respond to encores, and after an intermission, during 
which pipes are lighted and conversation is brisk, the interest centers 
around the spearman. Having gone through with a species of Highland 
flincr, he stoops, plants his spear in the ground and stands in a stooping • 
position behind it. The dancers go through with the same motions and 
form a circular body around the spear, also grasping it. The men with 
the head-dresses do the same; one on each side of this spear-bound body; 


276 


NATIVE DANCES. 


both finally stand still, thrust in their hands and grasp the spear. At 
the same time all sink on their knees and begin to move away in a mass 
from the singers, with a sort of grunting noise, and, giving one long 
semi-grunt or groan (after the manner of the red kangaroo, as they say), 
disperse ; the music and stamping gradually die away, and shouts and 
acclamations rend the air. 

There are dances of minor importance, which have been confounded 
with the corroboree. In detail, even, the latter seems to be uniform 
throughout the continent. A favorite war dance is that which reveals, 
by the light of huge fires, the same principals and lookers-on as were 
seen at the corroboree. Round a circle the blacks are gathered three 
and four deep. The music seems, hovewer, to be principally furnished 
by the “gins” who drearily chant to the accompaniment of rude wind 
instruments, tom-toms and Jew’s harps; besides beating opossum skins 
which lie before them, with sticks and clubs. Now the chant dies into 
a wail, now swells into triumphant volume as the dance progresses. The 
chiefs with the spear and head-dresses are there waving, their arms 
wildly about and uttering discordant cries. A party of young warriors 
now glide into the ring like cats, stooping, bending, whispering, looking 
cautiously about, their dark eyes gleaming with fiendish purpose. Sud¬ 
denly they dash upon a group, who are evidently important performers 
in the theatricals, and the party attacked rise up drowsily, as if from 
sleep, but are soon feebly resisting and crying foi mercy. A struggle 
ensues, spears flash toward the unfortunates, clubs are hurled so as to 
barely miss their mark; warriors, old men and women break the circle, 
and yelling like fiends close in upon the supposed victims of the midnight 
surprise. After an intermission the dance is commenced, the old men 
heap a fresh supply of logs upon the bonfires and bedlam is worse con¬ 
founded. The fiames leap up, fierce and high, and light up the gloomy 
bush for a long distance around; the dancers writhe and distort themselves 
into a state of partial delirium ; their teeth gleam like the tusks of wild 
animals, and their eye-balls roll more wickedly than the fiercest monarch 
of an Australian herd of cattle. When the dance is at the heicdit of 
deviltry, half a dozen effigies of women, made of saplings and clothed in 
red blankets, are dragged into the ring, to the chorus of hideous laugh¬ 
ter, and cast upon the largest fire. Some such demoniacal exhibition as 
this always accompanies these savage theatricals. 

A dance is often given by one tribe in honor of another which has 
sent its chief men on a friendly visit. The reception committee, or 
principal warriors, seat themselves on the eround, cross-lecraed and 
when the strangers have given an account of themselves the males of 


Native dances, 


277 



TRAVE LING WOMEN 









































NATIVE DANCES. 


278 

both tribes salute each other by putting their hands on each others’ 
shoulders and bending their heads forward so as to touch each others 
breasts. If the travelers tell of deaths, which touch the feelings of the 
reception committee, there is violent weeping and wailing, the stoutest 
warrior seeming not to deem the exhibition an unmanly one. The war¬ 
riors from the far country carry all their weapons and the women also 
accompany them, bearing bags and baskets, firesticks, sleeping mats and 
children. These are taken in charge by the women of the receiving 
tribe, who lead them away to their huts. Then commence the prepara 
tions for the dance ; the painting of bodies, and the manufacture of all 
sorts of devices from cockatoo and emu feathers, being the principal 
order of the day and night. The women roll up kangaroo skins which 
they are to beat with their hands ; others bring out flat sticks which they 
will clap together. The dancing of the two tribes shows as much differ¬ 
ence in manner and style of figures as if they were distinct nationalities. 
The dance comrnencesby the receiving tribe going through with a hunt¬ 
ing pantomime; imitating the actions of different animals, especially the 
kangaroo. After dancing for some time, the warriors pause suddenly 
with a deep gutteral exclamation and again start off, or drop all at once 
from a standing to a squatting posture and hop away with outstretched 
arms and legs. The women, who are adorned with opossum cloaks, 
bands of white swan down around the head, and bunches of cockatoo 
feathers in front, dance at the corners, passing behind the body of the 
principal male dancers ; while the females of the other tribe dance in a 
line parallel to that of the men, who carry short sticks on which are tied 
bunches of feathers. Soon the dancers advance in a body, bearing on 
top of a pole the rude figure of a warrior made of grass, reeds, kangaroo 
skins, feathers and paint. This is relegated to the rear, and two poles 
are advanced, having upon them a number of branches decorated with 
feathers and painted bark. After more evolutions the dancers of the 
two tribes meet, prick one another in the shoulders with their spears, and 
the formalities of the occasion are considered over. 

But whether these dances are of a religious or a political nature, 
it is certain that the Bora signifies a ceremony by which the young 
men become warriors and are admitted to all the privileges of the 
tribe. Previous to the ceremony they are obliged to undergo certain 
tests of their courage and fortitude, as well as to live alone in the bush. 
When the period of their probation is over, they are brought to the 
Bora ground which is usually a retired spot, on a slight elevation, 
level at the top. No white man has learned what there takes place. 
The women are excluded ; no one is allowed upon the ground who has 


NATIVE DANCES. 


279 


not been himself initiated. A large circle is scooped out surrounded 
by a wall of earth in which two openings are left, one through which 
the youths enter and the other through which they pass if they are 
found worthy, as kippers or full-fledged warriors. In the center of 
the ground is placed the rough effigy of an emu, a bird which the Aus¬ 
tralian seems to view with mysterious reverence, and over whose body, 
when killed, he will usually mumble some sort of an incantation or 
prayer. When the young warriors appear to the world, they are seen 
to have a tooth or two knocked out, or a part of a finger cut off; but 
why or how ’twas done is a secret which is carried to the grave with 
their spears and boomerangs. To divulge the secrets of the Bora would 
be followed by dire vengeance. As one says who has tried to worm 
out the secret: “At night, over the camp-fire, when the horses have 
been hobbled, the pipes lit, and a pannikin of grog poured out, the 
black boy, drawn into conversation by the master, for whom he has 
unbounded admiration, will sometimes wax communicative about the 
customs of his tribe ; but any question concerning the Bora only elicits 
a shake of the head and the reply: ‘Suppossmine pialla you, black- 
fellow directly mumkull mine ’ ” (If I told you the blacks would kill 
me at once). 

BURIAL CUSTOMS. 

A German missionary states : “ At Moreton Bay, Queensland, a 
lad having died, several men gathered around the body and removed 
the head and the thick outer skin, which was rolled upon a stake, and 
dried over a slow fire. During this horrid ceremony the father and 
mother stood by, loudly weeping and lamenting ; and the thighs were 
then roasted and eaten by the parents. The liver, heart and entrails 
were divided among the warriors, who carried away portions on their 
spears ; and the skin and bones, together with the skull, were rolled up, 
and carried about by the parents in their grass bags or wallets.” But 
this species of cannibalism is rather connected with the burial custom 
of the Australians than with their diet. They have nearly as many 
ways of disposing of their dead as there are tribes in the island. Some 
bury them in a crouching position, as do certain tribes in Southern 
Africa, and raise a small mound upon a platform of sticks placed over 
the mouth of the grave. The natives of New South Wales burn the 
body of the warrior after turning the face to the east, spears and 
weapons being arranged beside it. If he was slain in battle a platform 
is erected, upon which the corpse is placed cross-legged, being rubbed 
with a portion or its own fat mixed with ochre. Fires being kindled, 


28o 


BURIAL CUSTOMS. 


the friends and relatives gather around and remain for ten days in 
perfect silence, two of their number being armed with boughs of trees, 
with which to drive away flies. At the end of this time the body is 
covered with a kind of mat formed of long reed grass, the face quite 
exposed. After several weeks the corpse is taken down and buried, 
having become smoked and dried by the ten days’ fire ; the skull is 
converted into a drinking vessel by the nearest relative, and the bones 
are either buried or carried about by members of the tribe as incen¬ 
tives to courage. Favorite children who have died are sometimes 
eaten, placed in the forks of trees, or carried about in a bag placed 
upon the shoulders of the mother. How long the loathsome load is 
to be borne is not known, but when a weak, half-starved woman 

chooses this part, as she often 
does, there is still hope and 
there are possibilities for the 
most de<xraded of Australians 
In the north of the continent 
there are tribes who fix their 
dead warriors in the forks of 
trees ; others who place them 
in hollow stumps, smearing 
the skulls and bones 
with red and white clay. 
Sad to relate, the aged and 
the weak meet with little 
sympathy either in life or 
death. The struggle for 
existence is so terrible that 
infanticide is common, and 
AN AUSTRALIAN GRAVE. the notable absence of lame 

or otherwise incapacitated adults is accounted for on the savage reality 
of the survival of the fittest. The poor old women have their bodies 
crowded into badger holes, while those of the men are placed upon 
frameworks, and left to decay and to the crows ; the bones are after¬ 
wards collected and buried. 

The most savage of the Australian tribes seem to have some ideas, 
crude though they may be, in regard to punishment for murder. 
Attended by the chief men of the tribe, the culprit is led to a secluded 
spot, the widows or other near relatives of the deceased wailing and 
lacerating their bodies with sharp stones as the company proceeds. Hav¬ 
ing chosen the ground, the accuser stands behind the criminal who 
































BURIAL CUSTOMS. 


281 


carries the spear with which the deed was done. The latter Is oblige to 
hold out his right arm and receive a severe thrust In It at the hands of one 
of the near relatives of the deceased or a head man of the tribe. The 
punishment seems inadequate, but the black who executes It weeps and 
wails as if his sorrow were as much for the criminal as for the widows, 
who are seated on the ground ostensibly racked with uncontrollable 
grief. Their appearance, however, is rendered ludicrous by the caps of 
pipeclay which are upon their heads, these being the chief features of 
a widow’s mourning habit. 

These extreme manifestations of grief do not touch the tender spots 
in many hearts, when it is remembered how depressed the woman is 
among the aborigines ; that although delicately molded she does all the 
hard work, such as preparing the food, bringing the wood for the fire and 
carrying the burdens ; that she shivers beyond the radius of the fire in 
cold weather, and In the heat of the day she toils on, her only relief 
being a bunch of wet grass on the head; that her choice in the matter 
of marriage is not consulted, but that she is promised in Infancy and 
when the proper time comes Is borne away and considered a wife, or 
gin ; that her body. If it is comely, is covered with the scars of spear 
wounds made by former wooers and those inflicted by her husband; 
and now that she is a widow, she descends as so much property to the 
nearest male relative of the deceased. When these things are remem¬ 
bered, and more abuses also, the poignancy of her grief may be ques¬ 
tioned ; but It is more than likely that if she acted as she felt, she would 
be suspected as having, directly or Indirectly, caused the death of the 
brute. So she shrieks and raves, scratching her nose and cheeks and 
tearing her body with shells and pieces of flint, while the deceased Is 
being burled, and as If still fearful that the tribe will look upon her man¬ 
ifestations as luke-warm, she returns to the grave alone to lacerate her¬ 
self afresh. 

AUSTRALIAN COW-BOYS. 

If the Australian has an occupation In the line of civilized life, it 
is In tending stock. Blackboys take readily to the saddle, and like 
their cousins the Bushmen, in Africa, have remarkably acute senses. 
Their bump of locality Is as wonderful as the cattle they tend, who 
will strike across country for hundreds of miles and bring up with cer¬ 
tainty at their own station or ranch. The native stockman can track a 
man or beast for days when a white man could see no footmark or trace. 
He is lazy and fond of tobacco ; with this supplied hini and a good 
horse to mount, he is happy—unless he takes it into his head to return 


282 


A DYING RACE. 


to grease and a kangaroo’s skin, which is not an unusual resolve. His 
chief duty is to train the cattle so that they will know the limits within 
which they may graze. If they are new arrivals, before they are 
thoroughly broken in, they may take a notion to start for their former 
camp, seven or eight hundred miles away. They may have been taken 
along circuitous coast roads, 1,000 or 1,200 miles, and upon attempting 
to fix them to a new camp or run, some of them will escape the vigil¬ 
ance of their keepers. Through the thick forests of the West and over 
its arid plains they head, straight for their old home, two or three hun¬ 
dred miles inland from the route by which they were driven. The in¬ 
stinct which draws them unerringly to their far destination is one of na¬ 
ture’s great mysteries. To prevent this breaking away for a deserted 
camp, the herdsman keeps the new arrivals well in eye and daily drives 
them on the run, and when camped they are kept there steadily for some 
hours ; so that after a few weeks the brutes are weaned from their old 
run and wedded to the new. Droughts and floods may now scatter 
them over hundreds of miles of country, but with the return of better 
times the majority of them will surely find their way to their own camp. 
The stragglers will be gathered, if possible, by the native herdsman ; in 
the great inland country where thousands of herds of cattle are pas¬ 
tured on one immense plain there can be no boundaries to the runs and 
the keepers’ duties are increased. His work is not heavy, unless you 
except the time when the owners of the cattle agree upon a general 
muster, for the purpose of separating one man’s herd from all the rest. 
Plains and woods are then scoured ; through thickets, along belts of shady 
timber, from one pool of water to the next, the cattle are driven by the 
herdsmen ; as the limits of each run are reached they know that most of 
the cattle they find are their own, for their neighbors have had due 
warning and started their herds to camp. Finally all of these scattered 
lots are collected and driven rapidly toward the camp whose owner 
makes all this commotion. The Australian cow-boy may now be called 
upon to assist in “drafting” the cattle. First the fat ones are driven 
out of the mob ; then the cows and calves to brand, and then the 
“strangers” who, with all possible care, will get mixed in with the drive. 

A DYING RACE. 

Sudden changes of temperature, insufficient food and shelter, with 
filthy habits, have made of the Australians a weak and decreasing race. 
In South Australia more is being done for the natives than in any other 
colony, and yet, as an example of the rapidity with which the tribes are 
dying out, the Sub-Protector of Aborigines states that the Narringerie 


A DYING RACE. 


283 


who in 1842 numbered 3,200 persons, are now nearly extinct. This 
diminution cannot be accounted for by wars with other tribes, or with 
whites, for the Narringerie have been affected more by civilization than 
any other tribe, and live at peace with the whites. It has been deter¬ 
mined that the largest ratio of deaths and the smallest of births are to 
be found among those blacks who have definitely settled. 

Consumption is their great scourge ; consumption, intemperance 
and other causes are so thinning tlie ranks of the aborigines that 
authorities are slow in allowing 50,000 as the entire native population 
of Australia. Fifty thousand people spread over a continent as large 
as the United States! The race is dying out, and what is most sin¬ 
gular is that the mortality does not perceptibly diminish when the Aus¬ 
tralian becomes partially civilized ; the seeds of decay seem to have 
been firmly implanted in the whole race, and in spite of alleviating 
conditions, they persist in bearing continual and bounteous harvests of 
death. It often happens that a tribe which is comparatively strong in 
its native forest adopts many of the habits of the white man, and yet 
retains enough of the old to make the change a positive detriment ; 
such as wearing clothes in the day time and leaving them entirely off 
at' night, without much improving the means of shelter. Medicine 
and other assistance are furnished sick natives by the Government, but 
they either refuse to take the medicine or, having taken it, they neglect 
all sanitary precautions. Next to consumption, which carries away 
more^ than one-half their number, measles and small-pox, which they 
have received from the whites, create the greatest havoc among them. 
Fevers are quite unknown to them. The time is not far distant when 
all the tribes of Australia will follow in the footsteps of the extinct 
Tasmanians and of the fast disappearing Maoris of New Zealand. 

The attempt to reclaim the aborigines from their savage life has 
been only partially successful, partly because of their degraded physical 
condition and partly because of the vast territory through which the 
sparse population is scattered. Both the government and religious 
denominations have established hospitals, poor houses and schools for 
their benefit. But even the most promising of the natives seem quite 
isolated in a civilized community. They cannot marry. They have no 
certain means of subsistence. They have no real companionship. 
When they have become apparently civilized, therefore, many return 
to the bush. A sample case : The officers of a British ship took away 
with them a bright native who remained with them for several months. 
He was a waiter at the gun-room mess, never tasted spirits, was atten¬ 
tive, cheerful, and remarkably clean. When the vessel returned to 


ON 'I'HE WAR PATH. 


284 

Swan River, after a voyage along the western coast, the Australian, 
who had seemed quite civilized, deserted the ship, and the next seen 
of him was a savage—greasy, almost naked, painted all over and the 
hero of several murders. The most effective work of reclamation is 
going on among the children of natives as well as those of mixed 
blood. The condition of the latter is particularly hard ; for they are 
outcasts of both blacks and whites. Remembering the exalted opinion 
which the Australian has of the white man, it is probable that his 
custom of sacrificing a half-caste at his corroboree has a religious sig¬ 
nificance. He would kill and eat the luckless one, just as it is the rule 
in some tribes for favorite children who have died a natural death to 
be devoured by their parents ; by thus eating flesh in which coursed 
the blood of a white man, he would honor the memory of some one 
of his tribe whose soul was embodied in the jumped-up. 

ON THE WAR-PATH. 

Students of Australian life have never attempted to discover 
whence this wide-spread notion that the white man is a higher order of 
the native race. Certain it is that when the squatters first commenced 
to establish themselves in the eastern provinces they did not find that 
a universal feeling of awe prevaded the minds of the aborigines. It is 
true that they gazed with fear upon the first mounted stockmen, 
looking upon them as a new kind of animal :—the native cattle are as 
terrified when a herder dismounts in their midst, not knowing what 
manner of beast he is. At first the natives retreated before the whites 
spearing a cow and a calf now and then. But as the squatters multi¬ 
plied and brought, many of them, fat herds of cattle, the Australian’s 
taste for beef became more insatiable ; and he was treated often to a 
taste of cold lead, which he did not so much relish. In this great 
country each stockman’s hut was leagues distant from any other, 
standing in a clearing, as far as possible from any forest or thicket in 
which the gliding Australian might be concealed. The squatter trusted 
to his good gun, steady hand and keen senses, and the blacks’ dread of 
darkness, and hardly barred his doors. The natives commenced to get 
bolder, and once crept down the chimney of a squatter in order to 
batter his skull while he slept. Other murders followed. The squat¬ 
ters for miles around arose in their wrath, surrounded a camp of the 
enemy, killed some outright and burned others in a huge bonfire— 
destroyed them all, men, women and children. By this time the gov¬ 
ernment had taken the matter in hand. Supposed murderers of squat- 





ON THE WAR PATH. 


285 


ters were taken to the sea-coast towns and tried, but it was impossible 
to prove the crime. Even if it could have been done in their native 
undress, it was impossible after they had been covered with European 
goods. So blacks were discharged and whites were hanged. Thus 
encouraged the Australian showed his respect for the white man less 
than ever, and murder and depredations were the order of the hour. 
Then the government supplied the country with mounted soldiers, 
policemen, under the command of British officers, who engaged the 
services of the natives as trackers. Afterwards they formed bodies of 
native police who did not seem 
greatly averse to shooting 
down their kind if they were 
given plenty to eat and drink. 

A small black boy, but a good 
tracker, who was thus employed, 
assisted a squad of soldiers 
to surround the camp of a 
tribe which had committed 
some cold blooded murders. 

Penned up in a gorge they 
were fired upon by the police. 

Some leaped over a waterfall 
which was the only outlet, 
others were shot—and the boy^ 
what had he been doing? He 
had been lost sight of; but 
after the fray was over, he 
appeared with a blood-stained 
sword which he proudly held 
up to the commander, saying 
with a laugh : “ My word, this hatchets of the Australians. 

a good long knife. I’ve killed my old mother. I took off the old 
woman’s head”; — the above being a translation of a lot of Australian 
English which the young fiend had picked up. 

This kind of warfare continued for many years, especially in Queens¬ 
land and New South Wales, and is one explanation of the terrible thin¬ 
ning out of the native population. A squatter came to believe that he 
was justified in killing an Australian as he would a dog or a rat; in fact 
a case is on record in which a squatter, suspecting a premeditated attack 
from some blacks near his hut, called them to his door and told them 
that it was Christmas time, when all should feast; that therefore they 






































































































































































































































































































286 


MISCHIEVOUS FEASTS. 


should eat a pudding of plumbs and flour and every good thing, which 
he would give them. They believed him, and taking the pudding away 
to their camp, distributed the precious stuff to their women and children. 
The pudding was sweetened with arsenic, and a score or more blacks 
were taken away from the fast-decreasing population. 

MISCHIEVOUS FEASTS. 



But though there were atrocities on both sides the stronger race, of 
course, triumphed. The blacks themselves came to understand that no 
matter how many whites they killed others would come to fill their places. 

As one of their leaders ex 
pressed it in his best English 
“Suppose blackfellow g(. 
bong, baal more; but sup¬ 
pose blackfellow altogether 
numkull white, plenty more 
sit down along a Sydney.” 
In other words: “Suppose 
a blackfellow is killled, there 
are no more to take hfr, 
place ; but suppose theblacL- 
fellow kills all the white, 
there are plenty more wait¬ 
ing in Sydney.” At Okie 
time Sydney was supposed 
to be the grand depot of 
supply of the white m_n. 
Consequently the blackfel- 
lows who came in conU/ct 
with the whites, became more and more subdued. If the bunya 
season was good, however, they were apt to get without their bounds, 
as they still do. The bunya tree, which is of the fir species and 
grows to a height of over one hundred feet, thickly clothes some Oi the 
mountain ranges, and when its cones are plentiful, which contain quan¬ 
tities of rich, resinous nuts, the tribes gather from hundreds of miles 
around to enjoy a feast and a dance. In the bunya forest they camp for 
weeks, gorging themselves with nuts and game, fighting, feasting and 
corroboreeing. They scour every thicket grope into every log, climb 
every tree where they see traces of game; but after a time animals get 
scarce. They have had enough bunya ; they want meat now. Before 
the white man came with his beef and mutton, they used to fall upon 


AN AUSTRALIAN CA MP. 








287 


WAITING FOR THE RIVEr’s FALL. 

each other, or to butcher young women fatted for the purpose. With 
the advent of the squatter they killed either him or his beasts as an offer¬ 
ing to the corroboree. When the whites had so increased in numbers 



WAITING FOR THE RIVER’S FALL. 

that there were several “Sydneys” on the continent, and their settle 
ments lined the eastern and southern coasts, they contented themselves 
generally with spearing a cow or sheep. 































































































288 


WAITING FOR THE RIVER’s FALL. 

WAITING FOR THE RIVER’S FALL. 

As great an excitement as a bunya feast is caused by the rising of a 
river to any considerable height. Gum trees are stripped of their bark, 
large pieces of which are bound together with kangaroo or opossum ten¬ 
dons and the ends stopped with clay. These are the boats. The natives 
make their nets of animal tendons and fibres of plants. Tribes from all 
the interior country gather on the banks of the river and, for the time 
being, hunting operations are suspended for miles around ; they have 
witnessed the heavy rains in the mountains and know that the drought 
will be succeeded by a flood. The flood comes, the tribes scatter to 
higher ground and impatiently wait for the falling of the waters. Soon 
all is bustle and confusion. The little stream has become a broad, foam¬ 
ing. river, but still shallow. At convenient places men are stretching 
their nets from bank to bank, squirting water upon them for luck. 
Others who are more modest in their plans have waded out into the stream 
and are sliding their small nets under the fish, which, when secured, they 
bite with their teeth and throw to their wives and children waiting on 
the banks to receive them. Some of the women, however, are enter¬ 
prising and are using the nets themselves, or are catching the fish with 
their hands. 

Delicious frogs and cray-fish are also captured, the women wading 
for them in the swamps. Rats scamper over the ground, also, being 
driven from their holes by the floods, and are pounced upon by man, 
woman and child. At night the river is illuminated by thousands of 
fires which flame from the canoes of excited fishermen, and its bosom is 
continually pierced and crushed, as showers of long spears are cast into 
it, followed by the bodies of the natives in quest of their prizes. Each 
canoe has two occupants, one to keep up a fire of resinous wood, which 
is built on a bed of wet bark and mud, and the other to do the spearing, 
land the fish in the boat and continue the good sport the whole night 
through. The women are not left behind, even at night, but sally out 
in large parties, and throw the spear and dive with the most skillful 
of the men. So the slaughter goes on for weeks, every other day being 
devoted to general gormandizing. There is no thought of laying up a 
supply for the future, but though they starve in the future, for the pres¬ 
ent they will gorge themselves like prize pigs. The general custom is 
to throw the fishes upon hot ashes and broil them ; but when the desio-n 
is to serve up a dainty bit to a headman or a warrior, the fish is wrapped 
in a piece of bark, nicely fastened together with grass, and slowly baked 
in the ashes. Teeth and fingers are the most common instruments for 


WAITING FOR THE RIVER'S FALL. 289 

dividing the food, although a native of more than average manners will 
cut his food with Hints fastened into sticks. 

If a brisk breeze should spring up (which, by the way, the Austra¬ 
lian believes he can sing into existence) those who have not eaten so 
much fish that they are stupid, arm themselves with long rods, to which 
are attached nooses, and place upon their heads bunches of grass or 
reeds. Thus equipped they go forth in search of wild fowl. Espying 
a fiock of wild duck or widgeons, they commence a low whistle and 
slowly advance through the water, leaving nothing exposed but their 
grass-clad heads. Pushing their long poles through the water until they 
are underneath the birds, the fishermen cast the nooses in a quiet way 
around the necks of their unsuspecting victims, and pull them under 
water without alarming the rest of the flock. 

At the gathering of tribes upon some festive occasion a kangaroo 
hunt is generally organized, and tons of the meat obtained. The prey 
belongs to him whose spear has first touched it, however slight the 
wound may be; and if, according to law, he is too young to eat it, it is 
given to his nearest male relative, of proper age. After the hunt comes 
the feast. 

After these many feasts, during which flesh, fish and fowl disappear 
with such tremendous rapidity, it is the rule, as during a great bunya 
season, for the tribes to become very pugilistic. Their long fasts 
followed by these mighty feasts, bring on indigestion and a terrible state 
of ill humor. They become like a lot of quarrelsome children, who 
unfortunately are armed with dangerous weapons. Some of the elderly 
men of the tribes sometimes manage to patch up an armistice until the 
trees are stripped of their nuts, or the waters have returned to the sand, 
or the kangaroos are scarce, and the hot-blooded young men are fairly 
started toward their own countries ; but often tribe falls upon tribe and 
slaughter ensues, with a final feast of human flesh. Frequently, also, 
two members of different tribes are determined to fight out their differ¬ 
ences with spear and club. If they are evenly matched, after they have 
parried each other s strokes for a time each receives a thrust from the 
other in the thigh ; then each receives a blow from the other s club, until 
one or both fall insensible to the ground. 

It is during these feasts that the natives forget themselves, even in 
these latter days, and commit atrocities upon the whites which need to 
be punished. The native police, therefore, which is still in existence, has 
its uses, and it is owing almost entirely to its members that the country 
is in as good order as it is. Their impedimenta is a^ blue shirt, forage 
cap with a red band round it, double-barreled carbine and pistols, hand- 
19 


290 


CIVILIZED AUSTRALIA. 


cuffs, blankets, hobbles and necessaries. When they go into action they 
strip, leaving only their ammunition belts and forage caps, so that they 
will recognize each other. Giving their horses in charge of one man, 
they glide into the scrub and soon the crack of a carbine indicates that 
they have not been idle. If any maidens are members of the families 
whose male defenders they slay, they fall to them, as the rewards of 
valor; they place the dusky maidens on the saddle before them and 
henceforth the fair captives become part of their establishment. It is 
said that at the end of a month their gins will freely give any informa¬ 
tion that will lead their troopers to other members of the tribe who have 
committed depredations, or who meditate mischief, in return for which 
assistance in the line of duty the poor wives are belabored with the 
waddy until they are black and blue. Their piccaninnies, however, find 
great favor in their eyes. The fathers will amuse them and even watch 
with interest the various steps of the process by which, with charcoal 
and grease, the little animals are started in the way of their ancestors. 

So that now in the sections of Australia which may be said to be 
inhabited, there is virtual peace between the native and the immigrant. 
Fierce tribes of blacks with pointed beards and more pointed spears still 
bar the passage of explorers through the central and northern countries, 
while the dense forests of the west hide an occasional bevy of skulking 
savages, who venture to make hostile demonstrations. But the intelli¬ 
gent will of three million immigrants opposed to the ignorance of fifty 
thousand enervated savages is as an Australian flood to a drop of 
water in its path This state of affairs warrants a short review of the 
Australia of the white man. 

CIVILIZED AUSTRALIA. 

That vast expanse of country known as North and South Aus¬ 
tralia, and stretching through the continent for two thousand miles, 
from ocean to ocean, is controlled by the government of the latter 
colony. From Port Darwin in the north to Adelaide in the south is 
strung the transcontinental telegraph ; despite hostile savages, dense 
forests (rather than plains) of kangaroo grass, deserts of hard, sharp 
plants called spinifex, and drought and flood, England and her colonies 
were thus bound together. Of this slice taken out of the middle of 
the continent — nearly one-third of its body — little need be said, except 
of the southern division, or South Australia proper. Her people are 
among the most vigorous and enterprising of the colonists, and besides 
connecting the central portions of their territory with railroads and 



CIVILIZED AUSTRALIA, 


291 

telegraphs, have already commenced the construction of an iron line 
northward, which is designed eventually to follow the electric current 
across the continent. All the colonies are connected with each other 
by telegraph, except Western Australia; immigrants are now coming 
into this colony more thickly than during previous years, and ere long 



A WEST AUSTRALIAN FOREST. 

it will be brought into the community of states, via the telegraph and 
railroad. South Australia is especially interested in bringing this about; 
for in the furtherance of her broad schemes of public improvement, the 
inexhaustible forests of Western Australia are invaluable. The jarrah, 
a tree whose timber is as hard as mahogany, is there found in boundless 
forests, and several lines of railroad have been constructed to the coast 









































































































292 


CIVILIZED AUSTRALIA. 


whence the wood is shipped to India in the form of sleepers or piles for 
her railroads; there seems to be no limit to the durability of this wood. 
Taking the country as a whole, with its natural advantages and splendid 
harbors, South Australia will compare favorably with any other portion of 
the continent. The territory is particularly favored with several lakes of 
some size, and its soil is fertilized with small rivers and streams. 
Thousands of square miles of land are covered with wheat, which ranks 
among the finest in the world ; and this too when the soil is merely 
turned up by the plow and the seed thrown in, year after year. Nothing 
like a rotation of crops is ever attempted. Its wheat, sheep and copper 
are what has made South Australia a prosperous colony. Its people 

have an occasional gold flurry, but its 
wealth has rested, as a whole, upon the 
basis of wheat and wool. The population 
of South Australia has never been con¬ 
taminated by convict blood, which cannot 
be said of any other colony in the coun¬ 
try ; in fact, one of the principles of its 
charter was that convicts were never to be 
admitted within its domain. 

The smallest, most populous and rich 
est of the Australian colonies is Victoria, 
which was formerly a penal colony in 
New South Wales. The discovery of 
^ gold in 1851 marks the period of its sep- 
aration from the mother colony, and of its 
first strides towards preemince. As would 
be expected, the railroads of Victoria are 
more complete than those of any other colony, and points which are 
not yet reached by rail are connected by stage lines. It has the me¬ 
tropolis of the continent (Melbourne), and about a fifth of the 100,000 
Chinamen who are inhabitants of the country. 

New South Wales is the oldest of the colonies, being organized 
over a century ago. Subsequently Victoria and Queensland were split 
from it. The famous Captain Cook brought the land first to the notice 
of Englishmen, naming the country, and bringing back such favorable 
reports that the government established a convict station at Botany 
Bay, a few miles south of Port Jackson. Its mineral resources are great. 
Besides gold and silver, extensive coal deposits have been developed. 
The country is particularly adapted to sheep raising, the salt bush 
which covers so great an extent of land to the west being very fattening, 



A NATIVE VICTORIAN. 


CIVILIZED AUSTRALIA. 


293 


but rendering the soil worthless for agricultural purposes. With Sidney 
as a nucleus, New South Wales has of late years made great strides as 
a railroad colony, and in connection with Queensland to the north, is 
fast getting to a point where it may control the system. Its line is 
complete to Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, and a road is being 
projected across Queensland to the northern coast, or the Gulf of 
Carpentaria. When this is completed and the connection is made 
between Melbourne and Adelaide, the whole of Eastern Australia, 
as far inland as is necessary, will be tapped with railroads, and the 
northern and southern shores of its most developed colonies will be in 
communication. The central railroad, then, by way of the great trans¬ 
continental telegraph, would be the prime factor in the development of 
of Central and Western Australia. 

Queensland is divided by the Australian Cordilleras, from north to 
south; these mountains also constitute a line of division for the chief 
occupations of the colonists. Rich plains and valleys, watered by numer¬ 
ous streams, lie in the strip of country between the range and the coast. 
In addition to wheat, the farmer cultivates maize and potatoes, sugar 
and cotton, coffee and tobacco ; the horticulturist has from which to 
choose, the fig, peach, plum, lemon, orange, pomegranate, pine-apple, 
banana and a score of other lesser fruits, of both a tropical and temperate 
nature. It is also a fine cattle country. For a thousand miles to the west 
of the mountains the country is found to roll away in vast swells of herbage 
ovef whose tender roots millions of sheep are nibbling their way into 
usefulness. Queensland alone is an evidence of the tremendous 
increase in this element of Australia’s wealth, she having nearly as many 
sheep as the whole continent had twenty-five years ago (16,000,000). 
The advance guard of this wooly population arrived in New South Wales 
less than a century ago, in the shape of a flock of eight merino sheep. 
Wool as an article of export is now closely pressing gold for first 
place. 

It is in Queensland and New South Wales that the Australian 
forest is seen in its greatest beauty and diversity The forests of the 
west and southwest are composed chiefly of gum trees, with their leathery 
leaves and stately trunks, and of different varieties of oak, some of which 
are quite leafless. As a rule the leaves of both tree and shrub are ever¬ 
green, and of a firm texture, being perfectly adapted to meet the pre¬ 
vailing dryness of the climate. Toward the north some of the character¬ 
istics of Asiatic scenery appear, to give more variety and delicacy to 
forest life. All along the coasts are streams of considerable breadth, 
running parallel with the ocean, along whose banks and over whose 


294 


CIVILIZED AUSTRALIA. 


waters are matted together the tropical luxuriousness of Southeastern 
Asia ; their head-waters are in the mountains, springing from the juice¬ 
less vegetation of a dry, rocky country, but as they reach the lowlands 
they flow placidly and warmly through the tropics of Australia. On 
descending from a mountain of the Cordilleras into one of these forests, 
a government surveyor was so struck with the contrast that he exclaimed: 
“ We had passed into another climate ; the dry, arid soil of the stringy- 
bark forest, with its stunted vegetation, was exchanged, as if by magic, 
for a damp, humid region, sheltered from the wind by colossal barriers 
of rock, and presenting a wealth of foliage almost inconceivable. The 
graceful cabbage-palm towered to a height of seventy and even a 
hundred feet; the Indian fig reared its tortuous branches high into the 
air, clothed with rich draperies of curious and spreading parasites, and 
the graceful tree ferns, thirty feet high, flourished in the warm and damp 
atmosphere of these windless dells. In short, nothing can exceed the 
beauty of the scenery as the traveler descends the difficult and winding 
path that leads down the mountain to the rich pastures below; here and 
there a group of palms shoot upwards toward the sky ; and on either 
side the forest is so rank with creepers, ferns and vines as to be quite 
impassable. Here we gathered wild raspberries, and beheld the gigan¬ 
tic stag-horn fern growing from the trunks of the loftiest trees.” 

Fancy the lofty Cordilleras with hundreds of miles of grassy plains 
stretching away to the west; numerous streams flowing down the eastern 
watershed, and pushing their way sluggishly through this tangle of wild 
nutmeg trees, huge banyans, fig-trees and palms which skirt the base of 
the range for many miles, finally veering toward the coast, and after 
watering a fertile region of grains and fruits, dropping quietly into the 
sea. This, in miniature, is Queensland and New South Wales. 

But the secret of rapid settlement of ocean colonies is found not 
alone in richness of soil. Good harbors of refuge are a necessity. 
Queensland is rather unfortunate in this respect, since fourteen hundred 
miles, or nearly one-half of her coast line, is made dangerous to naviga- 
tion by a continuous coral reef, called the Great Barrier. It is the largest 
formation of its kind in the world — and that is all the honor which is 
attached to it. 

The only vessels which are seen in the vicinity of the reef are those 
which go nosing around in the nooks and crannies, like some sly 
animals, in the search for huge sea-slugs. These ugly-looking but tender 
animals are about two feet in length, and lie buried in the coral sand, 
their presence only being denoted by their long feathery tentacles, which 
appear above the surface. The Kanakas are a tribe of natives of the 


CIVILIZED AUSTRALIA. 


295 


northeastern coast regions, who have made themselves remarkably pro¬ 
ficient either in spearing the slugs when found in shallow water, or 
diving for them down the perpendicular sides of the reefs, underneath 
them, and far under water, fighting the shark and other ocean* monsters 
in their search for the repulsive-looking things, and in the interest of 
their masters. The voyage along the great reef may last for years. 
The usual plan is for the owner of a vessel to hire several good native 
divers, and choosing some island as his headquarters, plant a patch of 
ground to vegetables as a safeguard against scurvy. As the fish are 
caught they are split open, boiled, pressed flat and dried in the sun. 
They are then smoked over a wood fire and packed for shipment to 
China. The crews work on shares, and if the trip is fortunate they 
may return with their boats heavily laden after a lapse of a few months 
only. 

There are some good ports on the extreme southeastern coast of 
Queensland; but New South Wales from one extremity of its coast line 
to near the other, boasts not of big coral reefs, but of the finest harbors 
in the world, chief among them being that of Port Jackson, at Sydney. 
Victoria is likewise favored; and South Australia to the Great Austra¬ 
lian Bight. The bight, which is lined with steep and rugged cliffs, makes 
useless for purposes of navigation or refuge the southwestern coast of 
South Australia, and half of the southern coast of Western Australia. 
Then comes a passable harbor or two before you reach the southwestern 
extremity of the continent, and not another one along the low and sandy 
western coast and the high and rocky northwestern coast of Western 
Australia. In fact, it is this natural defect more than all else combined 
which has retarded the growth of the colony. The coast of Northern 
Australia, especially along the Gulf of Carpentaria, has some of the best 
harbors of the continent, though they are not so well known as the 
southern ports. They lie principally on the western shore of the gulf, 
the eastern side formed by York Peninsula being low and dangerous. 

The first well authenticated discovery of the continent was made by 
the Dutch during the early portion of the seventeenth century, while 
one of their yachts was out in a voyage of investigation to the coast of 
New Guinea, from the Dutch possessions in Java. The Gulf of Carpen¬ 
taria was named in honor of Peter Carpenter, the Governor-General of 
the Dutch Colonies in the East Indies. The Dutch discovered Western 
Australia and called it Endrach’s Land. The continent, in fact, was 
considered so honestly a Dutch discovery, that it was called New Hol¬ 
land, Australia being a later christening. New South Wales was the 
discovery of the great Yorkshire navigator. Captain Cook, and from the 


296 


CIVILIZED AUSTRALIA. 


eastern coast spread the Australia of England. The Dutch never colo¬ 
nized the island, because they did not first enter its richest fields. Had 
they done so, it would probably be the old story repeated, of Dutch 
pioneering and English grasping and holding. Australia is a land of 
which any people might be proud. Its riches have been intimated. As 
far as the continent has been explored, gold has been discovered in some 
form — mixed with quartz, ironstone or clay. Copper, coal, tin, lead and 
silver, have merely been neglected for the gold. The land is a vast curios¬ 
ity-shop. Not only are its natives so different from the Papuans and Malay, 
ans and negroes, that they are separately classified, but it has an ani¬ 
mal kingdom peculiar to itself. 

It is said that nine-tenths of the 8,000 species of plants found in Austra¬ 
lia are unknown elsewhere, and are entirely unconnected with the forms of 
vegetation of any other division of the world. Here, also, are the bird 
of paradise, the black swan and the lyre bird, the tail feathers of the 
latter being shaped like an ancient harp. The house is being swept of 
its first owners, and is being refurnished with a new order of things^ 
by a new people, for a future great civilization to enjoy its riches and 
revel in its wonders. 





THE TARTARS. 


ROM the earliest times Turkestan, or the country of the 
Turks, has been a battle-ground between the Iranian and 
Turanian races. First attached to Persia, then to Greece, 
then to Turkey, Arabia, the Mongol Empire, finally under 
Timur, or Tamerlane, it rose to power as an independent 
empire, bringing under its sway the immense territory stretch¬ 
ing from the Black Sea to China and from Moscow to the 
Ganges. This great Tartar, in his younger days, had passed 
a peaceful life in his native country as a hunter and skillful 
horseman, and his powers were not known even to himself, 
until his uncle, a chief of Mongol blood, retreated before a fierce 
invasion of the Calmucks, leaving his young nephew the alternative 
of fleeing with him or fighting for his country. Tamerlane chose the 
latter course, expelled the invaders, punished various predatory tribes, 
and, although he never assumed the rank of sovereign, became the 
ruling power of the great empire which he founded. He died while 
on the march for the invasion of China, although his favorite wife was 
the daughter of the Chinese Emperor. His tomb is in a mosque of 
Samarkand, his splendid capital. It occupies the exact center of the 
building, the tombstone being a slab of greenish-black stone. In a small 
building near by are the tombs of his wives. After Timur’s death his 
empire commenced to fall to pieces, until finally the Uzbecks became 
the ruling tribe of modern Turkestan; a family of that people being in 
power when Russia snatched away nearly all the country of Independent 
Turkestan not in the hands of the Turkoman robbers. 



THE SETTLED POPULATION. 


The Tartars who have settled within the bounds of Turkestan may 
be divided into two principal tribes — the Uzbecks and the Tajiks. The 
Turkomans, Kirghiz and other tribes of minor importance are migratory. 
The Uzbecks and Tajiks are representatives of the Turkish and Persian 
tribes, the former succeeding the latter, and in many instances driving 
them into the mountains, where whole villages of them are found. 

297 



















































THE SETTLED POPULATION. 


298 

These mountaineers are usually called Galtchas. In Bokhara, Samarkand 
and other cities in the central states the Tajiks form the main element 
of the metropolitan population. 

The word Uzbeck means independent. The Uzbecks, however, 
are under strict Russian rule and their beks, or native rulers, are 
dependent upon the good graces of their conqueror. Some of them 
have joined the fortunes of the invaders, and give the authorities due 
warning of any plots or threatened insurrections; others are neutral, no 
doubt abiding a time which may never come. According to native 
authority, the Uzbecks are divided into ninety-two clans, or families, 
which are also subject to a subdivision. Many of these people are settled 
in the cities north of the Syr river, and in northeastern Turkestan ; many, 
also, under certain restrictions are nomads. The city houses “are in 
general built of sun-dried clay bricks, covered with plaster and washed 
with some light color, and are seldom more than one story high. Owing 
to the scarcity of wood and the dearness of iron, the roofs are very 
peculiar. Between the rafters which compose the ceilings, pieces of 
small willow branches are closely fitted together, the whole is then 
thatched with reeds, and on this is placed a layer of clay and sods, it being 
necessary to put on a new layer of clay each year to render the roof in 
any degree waterproof. During the summer when it does not rain, the 
roofs are excellent and very pretty, as they are often covered with wild 
poppies, capers and other flowers. Furniture and household goods of 
all kinds have to be brought from Russia or Siberia, for there are no 
cabinet-makers or upholsterers in Central Asia. Still the houses are 
comfortable in spite of their fragility, and the great wide divans, the 
profusion of Turkoman carpets, armor and utensils give them an air 
of elegance and luxury.” 

‘ The streets of a native town are rarely straight, and in rambling 
about we go up and down hill, turning to this side and to that, some¬ 
times between high walls, sometimes beneath the wooden portico of a 
mosque which mounts high in the air, now along the edge of some deep 
ravine, and now crossing some rushing stream on a low wooden bridge. 
Everywhere trees are leaning over the walls, for everewhere there are 
gardens, and we can leave the street and take a by-path up the edge of 
some stream where an old wooden mill-wheel is busily turning, and feel 
ourselves almost in a country nook.” 

In many towns the Uzbecks have their own quarters and do not 
deign to venture into the Russian haunts. At Tashkend, where the 
Governor-General has his headquarters, this line of demarkation is 
especially clear. 


THE SETTLED POPULATION. 


299 


The natives are not manufacturers to any great extent; silk and cot¬ 
ton stuffs, sabers, knives and other weapons about covering the ground. 
Russia, Persia, Afghanistan, India and the Chinese Empire, however, 
pour their products into the bazaars of Turkestan. Some of these are 
rented by the Russian government. The bazaar of a large city is really 
a village in itself, divided into streets, each one of which is given up to a 
particular trade or class of manufactures. Whole days may be spent in 
them and the whole not yet be seen : “ Here are the silk shops, there the 

jewelers, here the brass-workers, while occasionally a large gateway with 
a court beyond marks the place of a caravanserai for the accommodation 
of guests and the storage of goods. Here and there are open spaces, 
in the center of which are small booths, sheltered for the most part by 
umbrellas and mushroom-like awnings of woven reeds, while all about 
perambulatory venders collect in groups. Here is a small kitchen with 
cabobs and patties cooking over the coal fires, here a tea-shop, there the 
stand of a baker, and next perhaps a man, sitting cross-legged on a high 
platform, deals out spoonfuls of snow and sugary syrup to the boys.” 
One street is devoted to dye-stuffs, another to leather goods, another 
to the productions of the Kirghis and Turkomans, others to Chinaware, 
cotton goods, silk goods, etc., etc. 

The home life of the settled populace is Turkish in the extreme. 
The favorite drink is green tea thickened with cream or melted tallow, 
the kumys (liquor made from mare’s milk) being also drunk. The 
tobacco which is used is in the form of a fine, dark-green powder. 

Their amusements vary considerably, although the strict Mussul¬ 
man will tell you that his only enjoyment is in saying his prayers, riding, 
shooting, and dancing at special festivals. The boys have their games, 
one of them being called knuckle-bones, small pieces of bones being 
used in place of marbles. The girls have rough dolls and play ball. 
Chess and even gambling is indulged in by adults. A very common 
gambling game is for a group of men to sit in a circle, each placing 
before him a copper coin, and bets are then made as to whose coin will 
first have a fly on it. Dancing by boys, wrestling matches and antics 
of comedians, add to the list of amusements enjoyed by the Sart, or town 
native, whether Uzbeck or Tajik. 

Their religious observances and regulations are substantially the 
same as those found in other Mohammedan countries. About the only 
native institution which is left intact, even in Russian territory, is the 
court, presided over by the Kazi. This judge has charge of civil suits, 
marriages, divorces and all family matters ; criminal cases of importance 
coming before the Bek, or native ruler. 


300 


THE NOMADS. 


The Uzbecks are tall, muscular, well formed, ruddy in complexion, 
with broad noses flattened at the end, receding foreheads and but little 
beard. When they become agriculturists, their wives not only look 
after household matters, collect fuel, spin and sew, weave, dress, tan and 
dye skins, but plough, reap, carry the sheaves of corn to and from the 
threshing floor, and winnow them. In these labors the men assist, but 
do not lead. The consequence is that marriages of the young are not 
so frequent among the poor Uzbecks and farmers as among the city 
people. The agriculturists seek in their wives merely patient oxen. 

In some of the tribes the married sons live apart; in others they 
remain with their father for a long time, and have a common cooking-pot 
with him. If this is the arranofement, a household is reckoned as ten sons 
with their families. Good friends or poor men are not obliged to pay 
kalym or marriage money; or if the man prefers to purchase his wife, 
he can work for her relatives or father and earn the stipulated sum. 
The amount of the kalym is determined by the eldest members of 
the two families who desire to become related; they, unknown to the 
principals, assemble for that purpose, and also to fix the day of the 
wedding. 

THE NOMADS. 

Over the vast steppes and desert tracts east and southeast of the 
Caspian Sea, to the northern frontier of Persia, wander the Turkomans 
and other nomadic tribes. They have retained all the fiercest blood of 
their ancestors and are the scourges of Persia, swooping down upon the 
exposed districts of that country and carrying away women and children 
into slavery. Their raids have always been accompanied with the most 
terrible atrocities, and the Shah has, several times, punished the brigands 
as they deserved. Once, however, he left 15,000 Persians with them, as 
prisoners, and thirty guns. 

The northern routes of travel from the Caspian Sea to India, via 
Herat, are still in the hands of these Tartars, who may well be the 
descendants of the savage Huns who spread desolation over so great a 
part of the ancient world. They are generally above middle stature, 
powerfully developed, with a white skin, round head, small nose and 
chin and scanty whiskers. Although haughty and irascible, when not 
aroused they are friendly and hospitable. Although considered as a 
nomadic tribe, the Turkomans have several fortified cities which are 
sometimes subject to the ruler of Afghanistan, and raise a revenue by 
taxes on passing caravans. 

The Persians who are captured by the Turkomans are employed in 


THE NOMADS. 


301 



their cities, or those of the Uzbecks of Khiva, in the most severe of 
labor. 1 he brand of slavery is effaced only in the third generation. 
Many captives, however, who buy their liberty, remain and become 
influential citizens. There are now forty thousand Persians in Khiva. 
Before the Russians conquered the Khanate of Khiva, it is reported 
that the Khivese, or Uzbecks, with the assistance of the Turkomans 
and Kirghiz, seized their 
countrymen on the 
steppes, and their fisher¬ 
men on the shores of the 
Caspian Sea, and publicly 
sold them as slaves; that 
at one time there were as 
many as one thousand 
Russian captives in Khiva. 

The Turkomans are 
variously divided, and no 
two authorities agree as 
to their nuiriber. They 
themselves say that they 
dwell 111350,000 tents, and 
that their souls therefore 
number nearly 1,750,000. 

The Turkoman tribes are 
governed by elders, just 

as long as the elders suit 
them. When their actions 

become distasteful, they 
become “ a people without 
a head, which is not 
necessary, for every man 
governs himself.” They profess to be devout Mohammeaans, and 
when asked how they can sell fellow-believers into slavery, reply: ‘‘The 
Koran is a divine book, and consequently nobler than man ; yet it is 
bought for a few crowns. And better still, Joseph, the son of Jacob, 
was a prophet, and yet they sold him — did that hurt him in any way?” 

The Turkomans cultivate a few grains, whose straw will serve also as 
fodder to their few camels, horses and sheep. A felt tent and miserable 
clothes complete the worldly property of the race. They prepare a 
honey from the juice of a huge water-melon, and manufacture jugs and 
powder horns from pumpkins. They make a little butter, they fish a 


A TARTAR. 










































302 


THE NOMADS 


little, they manufacture a little bad powder, and cotton and woolen cloths, 
and the only thing they do much of is to rob. 

In the northern and eastern districts of Turkestan are the steppes 
of the Kirghiz, who in Khiva acknowledge the government authorities. 
They with their stunted frames, flattened noses and prominent cheek 
bones much resemble the Calmucks, an ugly-looking tribe to the east. 
The Kirghiz may be called nomadic Uzbecks, changing their quarters 
summer and winter, with their flocks and herds, and using both horses 
and camels in their caravans. They have intermarried considerably 
with the Calmucks, which accounts for their decidedly Mongolian type. 

They eat mutton princi¬ 


pally, and upon important 
occasions, horse flesh. 
Tea and kumys are their 
drinks. 

Their natures are 
simple and unsuspicious. 
They are generous, curi¬ 
ous and lazy; but fond of 
receiving any choice item 
of news which they will 
bear, like lightning, to 
neighboring camps that 
they may enjoy the good 
thinof. Thouofh lio^ht- 
minded, they respect age 
and authority. They are 
merry and devoted to 
music and song. The 
men give their attention 
to their horses, sheep and 
cattle — the women do all 

CAMEL OF TARTAR EMIGRANT. 

known to plunder or fight for the mere love of it, but merely to reim¬ 
burse or revenge themselves on account of previous losses. 

The Kirghiz are polygamists, but the first wife is mistress of the 
tent, and outranks the others. Marriages and funeral feasts are the 
signals for these sociable wanderers to gather for a hundred miles round¬ 
about, and eat and drink for days at a time, at the expense of the parents 
or mourners. Before a marriage takes place, the suitor passes into the 
hands of the happy father two or three dozen cattle and some horses, 






















































THE NOMADS. 


303 


while with the bride must go a certain dowry, including a kibitka, or 
tent. An agreement is sometimes made between friends that children 
who may be born to them of different sexes and of suitable ai^e shall be 
given to one another m marriage. Such children, if they do marry, are 
exempt from paying the kalym, or marriage price. 

In case the Kirghiz is rich he engages a priest from some town who, 












CALMUCK TARTARS. 


for a stipulated salary in sheep, horses and camels, accompanies him in 
his journeyings as religious and secular teacher and secretary. Every 
Kirghiz, however, whether poor or rich, is aristocratic. The first thing 
he asks when meeting a stranger is, “Who are thy seven fathers?” mean¬ 
ing your ancestors for seven generations. Even if the question is put to 
a child and not promptly answered, the person is considered to be of 
























304 


THE NOMADS. 


vulgar blood. He looks upon the townsman or citizen as an inferior 
being, and has but one word for a husbandman ” and “ a poor man.” 

The Calmucks are both Turkomans and Kirghiz in many of their 
characteristics. It has been noticed that they answer the exact descrip¬ 
tion given of the Huns, many centuries ago: short in stature, with broad 
shoulders and a large head; small black eyes, always appearing to be 
half shut, and slanting downward toward the nose, which is flat with wide 
nostrils; hair black, coarse and straight; complexion deeply swarthy. 
They live in the saddle, restlessly roaming over a great territory in 
Chinese Tartary and Siberia. What religion they have will fall under 
the head of Shamanism, or spirit worship. This immense conglomera¬ 
tion of superstitions rests upon the tribes of Siberia from Turkestan and 
China to the Arctic Ocean, and will be revealed in succeeding pages in 
all its curious and hideous details. 

The East Mongols, as distinguished from the West Mongols, or 
Calmucks, inhabit Mongolia or Chinese Tartary; another family of Mon¬ 
gols being the Buriats of Siberia. The Mongolians still retain their 
tribal distinctions and are governed by hereditary princes, many of whom 
claim descent from their great emperor, Genghis Khan. The tribes are 
divided into standards; there is a recognized Mongolian aristocracy; and 
to retain a weak grasp upon the country China gives, materially, as 
much as she receives, in the shape of annual presents to the chiefs and 
priests who constitute the real government. The Mongols are devotees 
of Lamaism, a corrupted Buddhism, and their spiritual ruler is the 
Grand Lama of Thibet. China, therefore, must conciliate not only the 
Mongolian aristocrats but the Lamas, the latter even having more influ- 
ence with the people than the Chinese Government. It is still, however, 
an integral part of the empire, and further dealings with its people 
must be deferred. 





THE ARCTICS. 

TRIP through the frozen regions of the world is a mig 
journey, but it is to be taken all the way by land, after a pas¬ 
sage of Behring Strait has been effected. The races and tribes 
of men which are met in this overland trip are of the Mongo¬ 
lian types, the ugliest of them all being the Calmucks, who 
divide their allegiance between the Russian and Chinese 
Empires and Turkestan, their tribes roving from the Don to 
the western borders of China. They are descendants of the 
Scythians of antiquity, and proudly place themselves among 
the Mongols and Tartars of more modern date. 

THE UGLY CALMUCK AGAIN. 

The Calmucks are generally of a medium height, robust and broad 
in the shoulders, but with bow legs, and feet which turn inward. This 
latter peculiarity may be caused by the fact that they are a nation of 
horsemen and spend most of their lives in the saddle. Their skin is 
naturally quite white, but exposure to all sorts of weather, and to cabin 
smoke and soot in winter, have given it a swarthy tinge. The fine black 
hair of the women, and the white regular teeth of both sexes, are about 
the only claims to beauty which the people have as a race. They have 
the oblique eyes of the Mongolian, black and thin eyebrows, nose fiat 
and broad at the point, head and face very round, ears large and promi¬ 
nent, and lips thick and protruding. Where they have intermarried with 
the Cossacks of Russia some of this ugliness has been shaded down, 
but the pure Calmuck glories in being as ugly as the Scythian of the 
plains or the Hun of Atilla’s time. They are the connecting link 
between the Mongolians of the South and the Mongolians of the North, 
or the frozen regions. Their native home they claim to be the barren 
regions of Eastern Thibet — which, it is true, is cold enough; but cannot 

be considered a frozen country. 

20 




305 


























3 o 6 


SHAMANISM. 



THE SAMOYEDS. 

North of the Siberian Calmucks is the bulk of the Samoyeds, once 
a very numerous people who occupied the vast Siberian plain bounded 
by the Altai Mountains, Turkestan, the Ural Mountains and the Arctic 
Ocean. Various tribes of Turks, Tartars and Mongols split and scat¬ 
tered this great body of people, leaving one portion of it lying on the 
Yenisei and Obi rivers, in Southern Siberia, and the other near the Arc¬ 
tic Circle in Russia. Fragments of the tribe are found scattered along 


CALMUCK DWELLINGS. 

the dreary shores of the Arctic Ocean from Archangel in Europe to the 
Lena River in Eastern Siberia. 

SHAMANISM. 

The Samoyeds have been very little influenced by the civilization 
whose borders they touch. Neither Russia nor China have been able to 
wean them from the old manners of their ancestors. In the frozen 
regions of the Arctics they still cling to their ancient religion, which is a 
bewildering combination of beliefs in witchcraft, spiritualism, idolatry 
and bloody sacrifice. A man or a woman is appointed a priest by the 
soul of a deceased member of the clergy, who appears to the individual 
in a dream, and appoints him or her his successor. The ceremonies are 
not performed at any stated time, but rather upon some such important 
occasion as a death; the appearance of some wonder in the heavens; 
























SHAMANISM. 


307 


the approach of famine or pestilence. Then dressed in a long robe of 
elk-skin, hung with brass and iron bells, and carrying staves tipped with 
figures of horses’ heads, the priest goes leaping along, or performing 
frantic gestures calculated to awe the superstitious. Having arrived at 
the hut where he is to propitiate the evil demon who has brought calam¬ 
ity upon the community, he finds a reindeer ready for him, as a sacrifi¬ 
cial offering. After all the persons have assembled the priest commences 
a weird chant, and sprinkles spirits and milk upon the sides of the hut 
and over the fire. He then orders the animal to be killed. It is there¬ 
upon seized by some of those present, and its heart literally torn from 
its body, after which the skin is stripped off, and its flesh, with the excep¬ 
tion of a few pieces which are thrown into the fire, is consumed by the 
persons assembled. 

When the priest is about to commune with the spirits, a great fire 
is sometimes built in the open air, and those who are to take part circle 
around it, shrieking and beating drums and tom-toms, and twisting them¬ 
selves like snakes possessed with devils. The priest is the most furious 
of them all, his great fur robe, covered with bones and the metal images 
of birds and beasts, waving around him, and his stave of office assisting 
him to outdo the best of the common worshipers. After a time he falls 
to the ground, ostensibly seized by some mysterious power, foaming at 
the mouth and writhing in torture. His people then cast aheap of skins 
upon him, having previously slipped a noose around his neck, and when 
they think that he has been in communication with the spirits long 
enough, pull at the cord with all their strength. At this juncture the 
priest is believed by non-devotees to slip his hand or arm in the noose, 
and thus protect his precious neck. He makes a sign, at all events, that 
the spirits have left him and that he is ready to divulge their communi¬ 
cations. The people tell of instances where the evil spirits have stran¬ 
gled their priest. 

The antics and tricks of this priest of the so-called Shaman religion 
vary with the people among whom he lives. He will therefore appear 
in many transformation scenes, as he is found among nearly all the 
tribes of Siberia. Where the Greek Church even has made converts 
they cling stubbornly to their ancient idols and charms ; but when one 
of these partially Christianized hyperboreans is questioned as to their 
presence he passes them off as household ornaments. In the mind of 
the unadulterated idolater, the idol and the sacred bear or reindeer can 
scarcely be separated ; as witness the following discovery, lately made 
on the shores of the Kara Sea, which indents the coast of both the 
Russias : Traces of men, some of whom had gone barefoot, and of 


3o8 


SHAMANISM. 


Samoyed sledges were visible on the beach. Close to the shore was 
found a sacrificial altar, consisting of about fifty skulls of the ice-bear, 

walrus and reindeer bones, laid in a heap. In the middle of the heap 



0 . 

u 

Q 

W 

o 

<: 

C/) 


of bones, there stood, raised up, two idols, roughly hewn from drift¬ 
wood roots, newly besmeared in the eyes and mouth with blood ; also 
two poles, provided with hooks, from which hung bones of the reindeer 
































































































































































HOW THEY DRESS. 309 

and bear. Close by was a fire-place, and a heap of reindeer bones, the 
latter clearly a remnant of a sacrificial meal.” 

HOW THEY DRESS. 

The Samoyeds do not greatly differ from the Calmucks in personal 
appearance. When equipped for hunting or for a long journey, the 
native is not much to be seen ; he seems but a huge bundle of reindeer 
skins, and yet the weight of his garments is said to be so scientifically 
distributed as to offer slight impediment to his motions. He has on a 
pair of drawers made of curried reindeer skin, which reach to his knees; 
soft stockings, made of the pelts of a reindeer fawn, with the hair next 
to the skin ; boots of reindeer hide, with the hair outside, both on leg 
and sole ; a sack-like garment of young deer skins sewn together, open 
in front, with sleeves and gloves, the hair of the blouse being next to 
the skin, and of the gloves invariably outside ; over this garment is 
another reindeer jacket with the hairy side out, so that the body is pro¬ 
tected by a thick covering, with fur on both sides, which is the beau- 
ideal of a cold-resisting garment. Attached to all this is, of course, the 
close-fitting hood,which leaves the temples, cheek bones and chin exposed.' 

The women are distinguished from their lords by wearing a short 
pelisse, or cloak, and also by choosing various colored skins of the 
wolf and fox, leaving the tail to dangle at the back of the dress. Their 
long black hair is braided into a queue and ornamented with pieces of 
metal which tinkle, musically, as the vain creatures go walking along. 
These metallic ornaments are of brass and iron, and among them may 
occasionally be seen such curiosities and valuables as the old lock of a 
musket. 

When it is remembered that the tame reindeer is the Samoyed’s 
means of locomotion as he moves from place to place in search of game, 
and that the wild reindeer forms his chief supply of meat, the sugges¬ 
tion maybe offered that the Samoyed is the product of the reindeer; 
although the name Samoyed is said to mean salmon-eater and was 
(dven to him when the most that was known about him was that he was 
much given to eating that fish. His sledge is ornamented with walrus 
tusk and furnished with dolphin-skin traces and seal-skin chairs ; and 
as a salmon-eater, pure and simple, his time is past. In early Rus¬ 
sian chronicles the word Samoyeds is also translated, “ persons who 
devour each other,” which points to a time when they were cannibals. 

THE OSTIAKS AND VOGUES. 

The branches of the widely-extended Finnic race in Northwestern 


310 


THE OSTIAKS AND VOGUES. 


Siberia, commence to interlock with the shoots of that Mongolian stock 
which are seen in every portion of Asiatic Russia. From the Ural 
Mountains to the Baltic Sea pieces of drift-wood lie scattered along the 
route taken by the great body of Huns, which after it had broken itself 
against the Chinese Empire, moved westward, recruiting its strength as 
it went-. Four centuries after this emigration, when the empire of the 
Huns was at the height of its power, and wave after wave of barbaric 
warriors swept over Europe, Persia and India, the races of the north 
crushed the center of its power, which was on Russian soil, and the 
mighty fabric, with Atilla’s death, went to pieces. 

In the Finns proper, of European Russia, are believed to be 
embodied the purest representatives of that race which made the circuit 
of so large a portion of the civilized world in its career of conquest. 

But that historic ground must be ap¬ 
proached through the territory of two 
tribes of people, who either were left be¬ 
hind by the great body of Hunnish 
emigrants, or at a very early day were 
driven up from the South. Reference is 
made to the Ostiaks and the Voo^uls. 

c> 

North of the Ostiaks are the Samoveds, 
and to their west the Voguls. They 
occupy the country between the Obi and 
Yenisei rivers. Their villages consist 
of four or five tents of felt and the in¬ 
mates are peaceable, jovial, honest, in¬ 
genious and poor. 

The Ostiaks resemble the Calmucks, 
being short in stature, with flat faces and 
AN osTiAK. reddish hair; and as men and women dress 

in reindeer skins they seem to be quite a monotonous sort of people. 
Some members of the race use the skin of eels for clothing. When 
well rubbed with fat it is said to be more impervious to cold than fur 
itself. Their skins are also used as windows to their square wooden 
huts. 

In the neighborhood of the Obi they have ceased to wear their 
native costume and have partially adopted the Russian dress. Here 
also they possess no reindeer, their wealth consisting of light canoes 
and fishing tackle. A native who has property valued at $ioo would be 
placed among the capitalists of his people. With how much truth it is 
impossible to say, but the report runs that an Ostiak father is not averse 




FISHING AND HUNTING. 


3II 

to selling his daughter to any native in search of a wife. The average 
prices given are from $100 to $150 in money ; a horse, a cow or an ox ; 
from seven to ten pieces of clothing ; a measure of meal, a few hops and 
some brandy for the wedding feast. 

FISHING AND HUNTING. 


In their methods of fishing and hunting they show much ingenuity. 
To capture the huge sturgeons which, during the winter, lie in the 



muddy hollows of the rivers, bunched together in huge masses for the 
sake of warmth, he sets a tempting bait, and then cutting a hole in the 
ice, down stream, he drops 
into it red-hot balls of clay. 

When the fish feel the 
water getting warm 
around them they bestir 
themselves and, as is their 
habit, commence to swim 
up stream. Thus one or 
more soon falls a victim to 
the Ostiak’s ingenuity. 

For building their 
large boats the Ostiaks 
use the Siberian cedar, 
which is firmly grained, 
but free from knots and 
easily worked. Having 
no saws they take a tree 
two or three feet in diam¬ 
eter, split it in two, and 
of each half make a wide 
thin board, or the side of 
the craft. The poplar o^tiak family. 

furnishes them with their canoes, which are hollowed from its trunk. 

• Their bows, which are taller than themselves, are made by joining 
a flexible slip of birch to a species of hard pine wood, fish-glue being 
used to cement the pieces together. The arrows, which are finely feath¬ 
ered and four feet in length, have blunt heads of iron so that the 
ermines, sables, squirrels and other animals are killed without injury to 
their skins. The reindeer or elk is brought to earth with an arrow which 




























312 


THEIR IDOLATRY. 


has a heavier head made in the form of a lozenge. The bows are very 
powerful and the recoil of the string is so heavy that strong plates of 
horn are worn upon the. left forearm as a precaution against bruised 
and bleeding flesh. Wonderful stories are told of their feats of archery, 
as witness : An Ostiak marked an arrow in the middle with a piece of 
charcoal and discharged it into the air, whilst a second man, before it 
reached the ground, shot at the descending shaft and struck it on the 
mark. 

The Ostiak’s clock is the constellation of the Great Bear ; his nap¬ 
kin a broad shaving from the larch, from which tree also he makes laths 
for his hut ; his snuff, of which he is passionately fond, a fungus of the 
birch tree, pounded and mixed with tobacco. The manner of taking his 
nip is the same as that of the Chinese, viz:—pouring a small quantity 
of the snuff upon the right thumb. The Ostiak plays upon an instru¬ 
ment of five strings, shaped like a boat and improvises and dramatizes 
his songs as he goes along. Sometimes an exciting local incident, such 
as the eating of a child by a bear, will furnish a community with 
material upon which to exercise their musical and dramatic talents for 
many years. 

THEIR IDOLATRY. 

The Ostiaks are pagans and idolaters of the most uncompromising 
description. They have four gods, who are represented by their idols as 
creatures without legs, one of them having especial charge of the healing 
arts. One of their deities is Ortik, the same Ordog (or Evil One), 
which is found among the Hungarians, who are also a Finnic tribe. 
They also have their great sword dances in honor of one of their gods, 
over which the Shaman presides and who collects the weapons after his 
people have waved them about and screamed long enough. The dance 
takes place near some of the great fair towns, and is enlivened by the 
antics of professional buffoons and posture-makers. Both sexes join in 
the dance and bow themselves periodically before their legless idols. 
The Asiatic Ostiaks and the European Hungarians, or Magyars, have 
another band of union and indication of their common origin in this 
hideous sword dance. It is of such a nature as one imagines would have 
delighted the Huns who worshiped the god of war, under the symbol 
of a sword set in the ground, and bowed down as to a god before Atilla, 
their leader, who was wont to proclaim to his army of wolves that he 
alone possessed the sword of Mars. 

The Ostiaks maintain that they believe in one Supreme God whose 
likeness cannot be reproduced. As a type of this deity they venerate 


NATIVE HONESTY. 


313 


the black bear, as certain African tribes do the lion; but the Siberian 
does not go as far as the negro and irresistingly allow his type of 
Omnipotence to make a meal of him. Rather, he kills and eats the 
bear, but shows respect for the carcass in not allowing a woman to taste 
of its head. In a court of justice he swears upon the head of a bear, 
and by a dramatic motion of the jaws intimates that he invites an awful 
fate to overtake him if he does not tell the truth. 

NATIVE HONESTY 

Honesty is a prevailing virtue of the Siberians, and in this connec¬ 
tion it is a pleasant duty to notice a practice which the merchant of Tob¬ 
olsk has so long followed that it has become a custom. When he oroes 
north in the summer to purchase fish he takes with him quantities of 
Hour and salt, for the purpose of barter. These articles he places in 
store-houses from which he distributes them to the Samoyeds and Osti- 
aks who Hock to him for miles around. Upon having completed his 
tour of stations, if provisions still remain he leaves them unprotected, 
feeling confident that if a hungry Siberian passes that way, and wants 
Hour and salt, he will not take them without leaving a due-bill in the 
shape of a notched stick. Sometimes during the coming season its du¬ 
plicate will be presented to the merchant of Tobolsk by the honest native, 
who comes promptly to liquidate with a finny load. The coming gen¬ 
eration, if they cling to the occupation of their fathers, will not be 
obliged to fall back upon notched sticks under such circumstances, since 
for a few years past the Russians have been opening schools for the 
natives, one having been in operation in Obdorsk for the Ostiaks and 
Samoyeds since 1879. 

THE VOGUES. 

The Voguls are a much smaller tribe than the Ostiaks, some author¬ 
ities placing their number as low as five or six thousand. Their camp- 
ing-ground lies between the Northern Ural Mountains and the Tobol 
River, the northern boundary being the Obi. They are a roving people, 
and from the broken and barren nature of their country they are obliged 
to depend upon the spoils of the chase for their subsistence. Hunting 
regulations are therefore strictly observed. Like their neighbors, the 
Ostiaks, their encampments are never to exceed five tents each, and no 
encampment is to be pitched within four miles of another, since the great 
clouds of smoke which issue from their huts are as distasteful to the 
game as to the swarms of gnats which are thus kept at a distance. The 


THE FINNS. 


314 


atmosphere of the interior of their dwelling-places would be considered 
by a European as a sure instrument of death; but the Vogul lives in it 
and thrives; and farther north, where the climate is more severe and the 
yurt has no hole for the escape of the smoke, the native women spend 
weeks and months in such confinement and live to a good old age. 
The Voguls, who live to the south, near the Bashkirs, are somewhat 
given to agricultural pursuits ; but as a rule their time is divided between 
the care of their reindeer, fishing and hunting, and taking their peltry to 
the fair at Obdorsk, to which place also repair many of the Samoyeds 
and Ostiaks. 


THE FINNS. 



The Finns are classed as among the primitive races of the world, 
their language bearing a strong resemblance to that of the Tartars, Mon¬ 
gols, Turks, and the Tungooses of Siberia. That their language is of 

a primitive struc¬ 
ture may be in¬ 
ferred from the 
fact that many of 
the words and a 
greater part of the 
grammatical 
forms of the in¬ 
scriptions w h i c h 
have been de¬ 
ciphered from ex¬ 
cavated Assyrian 
A VOGUL ENCAMPMENT. monuments a r e 

virtually Finnish. Evidences are at hand to prove that the system of 
writing then used (cruciform or cross-shaped) was the invention of a 
people north of the valley of the Mesopotamia. As the philologists 
would make the Egyptians and the Hottentots one people, it is no more 
strange that Assyria should have been preceded by Finland, when its 
people were Huns, or Tartars, or Mongols. 

By ancient historians they are noticed in Europe as Fenni and 
Phinnoi, and horrible tales are told of their savage natures and 
actions. Their cousins, the Laplanders, still retain some of the traits 
given to them, but the Finns are mild and peaceable, though possessing 
great bodily strength and a splendid physique. In fact, they are far 
from being Ogres, by which name they were known before the Teu¬ 
tons, or Slavs, came up from the south and drove them toward the Arc- 






















THE CLEANLY NATIVE. 315 

tics, leaving a numerous body of their race behind in the persons of the 
modern Hungarians. 

THE CLEANLY NATIVE. 

Like most races of Monorolian extraction that for centuries have been 

o 

deprived of a mild Asiatic climate and habits of life, the blood has been 
brought to the surface of the body, where through a dark skin it shows 
as a ruddy glow of health. Even the rosy cheeks of the Swede, with 
his fair skin, are of not so rich a tint as those of the hardy Finn, both 
of whom, unlike the stunted Laplander, believe in the religion of soap 
and water. The Finn is much addicted to the use of the vapor bath, 
and, all in all, with his high cheek bones, square jaws, low, broad fore¬ 
head and dark eyes and hair, he is a living illustration of what genera¬ 
tions of cleanliness might do for the natives of both Asia and Europe, 
who have been pushed north by stronger people. 

The vapor bath may now be said to be a Sclavonic institution, though 
it is found to perfection among the Finns. The bath is heated to the 
height of some 160 degrees, the vapor being produced by pouring boil¬ 
ing water on red-hot stones. When the bather is heated to an immense 
perspiration, he runs out of the bath and rolls upon the grass or snow, 
according to the season in which he finds himself. 

Intimate contact with the Swedes and Russians, with such diverse 
national characteristics, has been the means of somewhat diluting 
native individuality ; but on the whole, although Finland is a grand- 
duchy of the Empire, its dependency upon Sweden for four centuries 
has had most to do with modifying the native crudeness of its people. 
Russia saw with uneasiness the strong hold which even the Swedish 
language had upon the people, long after the first part of this century, 
when she snatched the province from Sweden; but, by imperial dictum, 
since 1883 the Finnish has been the official language, so that now all 
persons intending to enter the public service must learn the native 
tongue. 

SAVING A LANGUAGE. 

The autocrat of the Russias is sustained in his efforts to rehabilitate 
the native tongue of Finland by the peasantry of the country, who form 
the bulk of the population. They have clung to their musical language 
throuo-hout all the centuries of Swedish and Russian dominion, have had 
their Bibles printed in it, and have prayed in it. From them also the 
beauties of the language flowed out to the world through the pen of one 
of their university professors, Elias Loiinrot. For years this scholastic 


SAVING A LANGUAGE. 


316 

patriot wandered around the country, living with the peasantry" and gatK 
ering from them all their most popular native songs. 1 his, however, 
must have been more of an agreeable task than otherwise, for the Finns 
are poets and musicians by nature. This characteristic of the race has 
already been noticed among the Ostiaks, an allied people whose home is 
across European Russia and beyond the Ural Mountains. 

For generations past the Finns have had their runolainen, or 
song men, who to the sound of their national instrument, a five-string 
harp, poured forth melodies of both a mythological and heroic nature. 
The magic songs were slowly and solemnly recited by the bard, who 
sometimes lived alone in a hut surrounded by forests and marshes. 
Every Einlander, also, was his own poet, and no striking event, public 
or private, but had its delineator. As was the ancient custom, when 
verses are to be recited two poets stand in the midst of a circle, and 
repeat lines alternately, every second line beginning with the last word 
of the preceding. 

The result of this universal aptitude for poesy and song'was to 
bring the professor a very large grist from which he could cull the best; 
the result was 23,000 verses, which contain an epitome of the ancient 
superstitions of the Einnic race, with heroic deeds and legends, love- 
makings and songs. Kalevala, the ancient name of Finland, was the 
title of the poem which is regarded by scholars, generally, as a remarka¬ 
ble addition to the epic literature of the world. Professor Max Muller, 
for example, says that Kalevala possesses merits not dissimilar from 
those of the Iliad, and will “claim its place as the fifth national epic of 
the world, side by side with the Ionian songs, with the Mahabarata, the 
Shananich and the Niebelunge.” This great heroic poem was published 
fifty years ago. Some time afterwards Professor Loiinrot gave to the 
world 7,000 Finnish proverbs and 2,000 charades, and since then the 
Russian, English, Swedish, Erench and German scholars have joined 
the Czar and the yeomanry in insisting that the language shall be main¬ 
tained in its purity. 

Another native professor was the first navigator to pass from the 
Arctic to the Pacific ocean via Behring Strait — the northeast passage 
around Asia prophesied over three hundred years ago. Other native 
Pdnns have made their marks as poets and scientists, the literary life of 
the country centering around the university at Helsingfors, the capital 
of the Duchy, and of whose faculty both of these professors were mem¬ 
bers. The university was founded at Abo, with the introduction of 
printing into Finland, two and a half centuries ago. The library was 
subsequently removed to the capital. When founded it contained 



AN ANCIENT CITY. 


317 


twenty-one books and a globe; it now numbers over 150,000 volumes. 
Helsingfors is on the Gulf of Finland. It is protected by a huge for¬ 
tress, built on seven islands and known as the Gibraltar of the North, 
d he streets of the capital are broad ; the houses large ; public build¬ 
ings, cathedrals and opera houses appear to convince the skeptical that 
Finland is not entirely a dreary country lying on the shores-of a gulf, 
soaked with bogs and marshes, and covered with a lot of good-natured 
know-nothings on snow shoes. 

AN ANCIENT CITY. 

Before proceeding to more intimately investigate the people, as 
peasants and home people, a glimpse should be taken of Finland’s most 
ancient city, Abo by name, and founded near the Gulf of Finland on the 
River Aurijaki, more than seven hundred years ago. In 1827 a destruc¬ 
tive fire swept away all the old landmarks except a ruined castle on a 
hill, placed there when the authority of Sweden was somewhat unstable. 
At Abo resides the Archbishop of the Lutheran church. 

For miles around the Finns flock on Sunday, some on foot, some 
in two-wheeled rigs, and others in long boats which accommodate parties 
of thirty or forty. The women do the rowing, and the men lounge 
smoking in the stern of the boat. The costumes of the women are gay 
in the extreme, at all times. 

The men make a special effort to appear well on Sunday, but the 
every-day attire of the Finns is about as follows : A coat of coarse 
woolen stuff, made with little regard to shape and tied around the body 
with a band ; a pair of coarse linen trousers, straw shoes, and bits of 
woolen cloth, or ropes of straw around their legs. In Russian Finland 
the natives seem to be more hardy than their conquerors and seldom wear 
the sheep-skin. 

In more important ways the two people are radically different. The 
Finns do not support a nobility ; but they uphold a species of caste in 
that the peasant, though far in the majority, allows the citizen or mer¬ 
chant to take precedence of him ; and he does this although he is manu¬ 
facturer as well as agriculturist. 

THE EARMER. 

In Finland the farmer prepares his own tar, potash and charcoal, 
builds his own boat, makes his own table and chairs, and in his cot¬ 
tage are woven the coarse woolen and other fabrics of which his dress is 
composed Much tar, pitch and potash are also exported. But a great 


THE LAPPS 


318 

source of wealth is the immense quantities of fir and pine which are cut 
from the forests in the southern part of the country. They are fast dis¬ 
appearing, however, since not only is an abundance of firewood exported, 
but the peasant, when his land has become impoverished, resorts to the 
extravagant policy of selecting a finely timbered piece of ground and 
then burning off the trees that the soil may be enriched with the ashes. 

The yeoman’s hut contains a single room, warmed by a large stove, 
the smoke of which goes out either at the windows or through a hole in 
the roof. Pine knots furnish him with light, and whether he live 
in the marshy, mossy East, or the mountainous North, he is pretty 
certain to be, both at home and abroad, an affectionate, honest, hospit¬ 
able sort of a fellow, inclined to be lazy, deliberate in speech, but good 
at heart, and ever verging upon the melancholy. 

The Finns in 
the southwestern 
part of the prov¬ 
ince call them¬ 
selves Flama- 
laiseth. They 
are breeders of 
cattle as well as 
ag ricu Iturists, 
but are poor and 
rude compared 
to the eastern 
tribe of Ra¬ 
re li a n s. The 
former number 

600,000 and the latter over 1,000,000 people. From Finland east 
of the Ural Mountains, and as far south as the middle VoUa River 
the branches of the Finnic race interlace with those of the Slavic, so 
that the two people seem often as one. But for the present we must 
leave these interspersed Finns, who number two million and a half 

of people, and go among a really uncivilized and peculiar people_ 

real hyperboreans —Finns, also, and yet not the poetic, musical, hand- 
some Finns of Finland. 

THE LAPPS. 

The true Laplanders do not number more than thirty thousand 
people, and inhabit the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Russia. 
Their dreary country of rock, snow and moss will probably remain their 
























































A MATTER-OF-FACT PEOPLE. 319 

own as long as they exist as a people, and this in spite of a few fertile 
spots and its poetical nights. The climate is extremely cold for nine 
months of the year. July and August are excessively hot, the sun being 
above the horizon for several weeks. These extremes of heat and cold 
are separated by a rainy spring and autumn of about two weeks. Win¬ 
ter is night and summer is day, and although the gulf-stream makes 


LAPLANDERS. 

existence upon the coast more bearable than in the interior, the i-^app is 
a poor, monotonous, ignorant creature of circumstances; driven from the 
south by the Finns and Scandinavians, he barely exists, physically and 
intellectually unfortunate. 

A MATTER-OF-FACT PEOPLE. 

The Lapps are supposed to be the Cynocephali and Pygmies of 







































320 


THE LAPPS. 


Herodotus, and with their squat body and bow legs, yellow skin, and 
head poised on a short round neck, bear a decidedly unfavorable contrast 
to the Finns. They are agile, but quickly exhausted by active work. 
The severity of their climate and the exposure which they undergo test 
their powers of endurance to the utmost; but everything is taken in the 
most matter-of-fact way. If a Lapp gets overtaken by a snow storm on 
the mountains, such as would appall the heart of the bravest foreigner, 
he simply gets under his sledge, and when the trouble is over commences 
to dig his way to liberty. He will not starve, for he has been filling 
himself full of raw fish, meat and blubber, while he could ; besides he 
has a stock on hand. His reindeer are as fitted to the country as he, 
and will take care of themselves. Ordinarily his steeds are docile and 
make no trouble; but during the fall and winter they sometimes become 
furious to free themselves, and turn upon the little Lapp like wild beasts. 
The driver is powerless to withstand them; so he quietly but expedi- 

tiouslygetsout of 
his snow sledge, 
crawls under it 
and allows the 
reindeer to have 
it out to their 
hearts’ content. 
The Lapp shows 
ingenuity, as well 
as coolness, in 
accepting his sit¬ 
uation and mak¬ 
ing the best of it. 

The women are very skillful in making garments, and the men cut 
out of wood, with astonishing ingenuity — considering the imperfect tools 
they employ — all the utensils they need. Many still hunt with the bow 
and arrow, but some have gained possession of fire-arms, which they use 
with effect. 

In the Sagas, or national songs of Scandinavia, the Lapps are repre¬ 
sented as a treacherous, deceitful race and addicted to every heathen 
practice ; these national songs also admit them to have been the original 
inhabitants of the entire peninsula of Scandinavia. Whatever their 
dispositions in ancient times, they seem at least to be honest Those 
who know them best, however, make a distinction between the Sea 
Lapps and the Mountain Lapps. The Mountain Lapps, or those of the 
interior, best answer Tacitus description of the Fenni, who, in his 


























































321 


A RELIGIOUS MIXTURE. 

time, inhabited hinland; and they seem to still harbor an animosity 
toward all their ancient enemies of Scandinavia and Russia, being 
haughty and morose. The Lapps who live on the coast, on the other 
hand, are hospitable and light-hearted. 

A RELIGIOUS MIXTURE. 

1 he superstitions of the Lapp have, to a great extent, been coun¬ 
teracted by the efforts of the Norwegian Lutherans on one side and the 
Russians, or adherents of the Greek church, on the other. I he Bible 
has been translated into their own lanofuas'e. But even with the Christian 
rites which they have adopted, they retain some of their old superstitions, 
many of them regarding the sacrament as a powerful charm to preserve 
them from evil spirits. 

Others practice a species of necromancy with the Runic drum. This 
is a wooden instrument hung closely round with brass rings. The head 
is covered with mystic figures, and the instruments are esteemed accord¬ 
ing to their antiquity. If any important matter is to be determined a 
ring is placed upon the drum head, which is repeatedly struck with a 
deer horn, and the omen is considered good or bad according to the 
figures the ring touches. There are private drums and public drums, 
the latter being manipulated by an official soothsayer, who drinks 
enough brandy to make him drunk ; when he comes to himself he tells 
the people how he has been to one of their holy mountains, and what 
explanation one of their deities gave him for the prevalence of the sick¬ 
ness among themselves or their reindeer. 

Those who have not been converted to Christianity worship four 
orders of divinities — celestial, atmospheric, manes and demons. They 
have one Supreme Creator, assisted by his virgin wife and their son. 
There are gods of beasts and fishes; of the rainbow and lightning; of 
the air and mountains; of death and of the souls who are passing to the 
shades below. The immortality of the soul and a future state of rewards 
and punishments are a part of the heathen belief. Several of the gods 
are of Teutonic origin, some of the ancient historians, indeed, placing 
the Lapps among the Teutons. There also seems to be among them 
remains of Druidical institutions. The very name of Lapp signifies a 
wizard, and considering how for centuries their dark minds were filled 
with all manner of gods, evil spirits, charms and omens, and the aversion 
with which they were viewed by both Scandinavians and Russians, it is 
remarkable that they have cast away so much that is useless. Since 

they have become partially Christianized, the Norwegians allow them 
21 



322 


SOCIAL PICTURES. 


burial privileges in their villages, but will not let them settle in their 
midst. Many of the Lapps are baptized when young, and their weddings 
take place in Norwegian churches ; but the great, healthy, clean Norwe¬ 
gian and Swede do not amalgamate with the dwarfish, greasy, smoky 
Lapp. 

SOCIAL PICTURES. 

Polygamy is not prohibited among the Lapps, but the high price 
of a wife virtually confines the practice to those who are the owners of 
many reindeer; it is a question whether polyandry is not more common 
than polygamy. The daughter of a rich man costs sometimes as much as 
a hundred reindeer, while a poor girl is seldom sold for less than twenty. 
This price they consider as a repayment of the expenses incurred in 
bringing up a daughter, and also as a remuneration to the father for 
losing her services. In his turn, the dowry which goes with his daugh¬ 
ter consists of reindeer proportionate in number to his wealth ; so that 
if he should be the owner of five thousand reindeer, as sometimes 
happens, and should sell his daughter for one hundred, passing her 
dowry over with her, it is difficult to see how he woiud make much out 
of the transaction. 

A native wedding solemnized in a Norwegian church reveals the 
bride and groom before the altar, each a trifle over four feet tall, and 
nearly as broad, and thus attired : The woman in a dark blue woolen 
tunic, with orange and red trimmings, her boots fastened with a vari¬ 
colored ribbon which is wound round them, extending half way to the 
knee ; over her shoulders a small, gay-colored shawl ; upon her head a 
brilliant cap with a huge bunch of narrow ribbons streaming behind. 
The man is dressed in a similar style, except his tunic is shorter and his 
turban more simple. After the service presents are exchanged, con¬ 
sisting of rings, silver cups, silk neckerchiefs, and sometimes, if the 
parties are very rich, silver girdles ; then comes the brandy drinking, 
which, with eating and hunting, constitutes all which the Laplander calls 
amusement. 

Men may marry at eighteen and women at fifteen, and divorces 
are unknown. The contracting parties lead in the festivities, seated 
side by side upon a box or rude stool. A great dish stands upon a 
small table, and from this the company take lumps of meat, cut them 
into smaller pieces with the large knives they wear about their waists, 
and swallow them at a gulp. Friends continue to pour in to offer their 
congratulations, and stay to eat the pieces of meat, and drink the brandy, 
or finkel. The smiling and chatting change to boisterous laughter 


SEA COAST AND MOUNTAIN LAPPS. 


323 


and shouts, and the happy couple commence their married life, inva¬ 
riably, as two unblushing bacchanals. The fact that the young woman 
is rapidly approaching her mother in hideousness will, however, have 
no effect in making the girl treat some other old woman with due 
respect. She may behave decently toward her mother, but the tend¬ 
ency of the race is to look upon the old as so many useless append¬ 
ages, and it is not uncommon, when they fall sick upon a journey, to 
provide them with a scanty supply of food and leave them behind in 
the snow. The young people, living so much in the open air and in 
such a temperature, will not at first show the effects of imbibing such 
quantities of finkel—a native brandy distilled from corn, and which has 
been described as a mixture of turpentine, train jW and bad molasses. 
But the life they lead may account for the appearance of the average 
Lapp face which has withstood the rigors of a quarter of a century or 
less. 

The faces of young and old are deeply lined and furrowed, so as to 
resemble rough masks. In a few years the girls old mother, with her 
deer-skin frock reaching below her knees and patched with gay Scotch 
tartan ; her rough reindeer-skin boots, with flaps like an oxford tie, well 
turned up at the toes and stuffed with hay ; her high blue woolen cap in 
stovepipe shape, beneath which straggle her shaggy, black locks, and 
peers forth the expressionless mask — this unearthly-looking, dried-up 
being, still clinging to the gaudy tastes of her race, will in a few years 
commence to look more like a sister than a mother to the girl. The 
Swedes are a very imaginative people and quite superstitious, and, by 
looking at these uncanny Lapps, it can well be seen how these Northern 
pygmies should have stood in their minds for the trolls, or dwarfs, who 
are supposed to bring misfortune and gloom to their unusually cheery 
homes. 

SEA COAST AND MOUNTAIN LAPPS. 

The division of the Lapps into those of the sea coast and those of 
the highlands has been incidentally noted ; but after you have witnessed 
a few general characteristics of the people, you will see that to intelli¬ 
gently reacn the particulars you will find yourself making a clearly 
marked distinction. They were originally all nomadic ; but the difficulty 
of finding sufficient food within the area to which they had been restricted 
compelled some of the tribes to settle near the larger rivers and lakes, 
where they hunt and fish regularly to supply the markets of Stockholm. 

The mode of bartering is somewhat peculiar. When the merchant 
arrives who wishes to make purchases, he finds that, as a rule, each Lapp 



324 


SEA COAST AND MOUNTAIN LAPPS. 


is attended by a bwede. Both stand motionless until he bids them 
advance. The Swede makes the bargain, and, when it is completed, with 
a quick movement each grasps your hand, and with the universal “Tak- 
tak,” departs. In making exchanges the Swedish note is generally used ; 
but when the Lapp comes from his fishing and hunting grounds, and 
desires the more direct process of barter, he receives for his skins and 
bird feathers, his fish and reindeer venison, such articles as brandy, gun¬ 
powder, cloth, coffee, sugar and meal. Hammerfest, the most northerly 
town, is a great mart. 

In summer the wandering Lapps of the interior are driven to the 
coast by swarms of mosquitoes and gad-flies. It is somewhat singular 
that the farther north one goes the more vicious the pests become — 
longer, bigger and bolder; consequently the poor inland Lapps, with 
their herds of reindeer, emigrate to the western coasts of Norway, occu¬ 
pying the lofty hills which the Norwegian farmers cannot use, and, pitch¬ 
ing their encampments in lots of half a dozen tents, turn their herds out 



FISHING IN LAPLAND, 


to feed upon the moss. It is estimated that more than one hundred 
thousand reindeer annually make these journeys. Summer is therefore 
the only season of the year when the mountain, or reindeer Lapp, and 
the sea coast Lapp, do not strictly observe their respective habitats. 

Much of the produce of the fishing Lapp goes to Northern Russia, 
by way of Archangel, and the northern and northwestern coasts of Nor¬ 
way swarm with a motley collection of Lapps, Norwegians and Russians. 
In Hammerfest itself the drunken of all these nationalities forget their 
distinctions and go reeling along together. There is great rejoicing 
when the monotony of their lives is broken into by the capture of a 
whale, and when seals and codfish give way to the leviathan. When the 
monster is sighted chase is at once given, and if the fishermen are so 
fortunate as to fix a harpoon in his body, they break it off and go about 












































LAPP SCHOOL AND CHURCH. 


325 


their regular business. The wound, however, usually proves fatal, and 
in a few days the whale’s body is cast upon the shore. But the harpoon 
is marked upon the barb, and though by law the finder of the treasure 
gets one-third of the booty, he must notify the owner of his discovery. 

The dwellings of the maritime Lapps are built of wood, or of 
sods, and sometimes have several apartments. They are roofed with 
birch-bark ; the floors are strewn with branches of trees, and on these 
are spread deer-skins. The Mountain Lapps dwell in tents consisting of 
bent sticks covered with a coarse cloth, or in huts covered with bark 
and turf. Their beds are often birch-leaves covered with seal or rein¬ 
deer skin. Reindeer horns form their spoons. Children are tied 
securely in leather cradles which swing from hooks in the roof, just be¬ 
yond the reach of the fox-like dogs who share the couches of the elders 
when the reindeer are safe in the corral, which is fenced off around the 
hut. When the herds are driven to their moss pasturage in the vicinity, 
or to the distant coasts of Norway, or are brought to their nightly shel¬ 
ter, these shepherd dogs are the mainstay of the Lapp. Upon such 
occasions the deer seem to lose all idea of individual responsibility, and 
merely go where their intelligent guardians drive them. Except to take 
care of their reindeer—two hundred of which are sufficient to support 
an average family — the Lapps consider themselves excused from 
work. They lie around most of the time smoking and chatting, while 
the women and boys make horn spoons or moccasins with which to bar. 
ter for brandy and tobacco, or for bright colored woolen goods, ribbons, 
silver earrings and finger rings. Even in the huts and temporary tents 
of the Mountain Lapp, however, one occasionally meets with books. 

LAPP SCHOOL AND CHURCH. 

Both Norway and Sweden send their missionaries among the Lapps 
and take to them not only the Bible but school-books. A church and 
school combined, in Swedish Lapland, is an unusual sight. The edifice 
is usually built of pine wood and painted red, standing on a knoll of the 
little clearing in which the village stands. The wooden belfry is apart 
from the rest of the building. The space between the rafters and ceil- 
\n<r of the church room below the kind-hearted pastor allows to be used 
in summer as a storehouse for sledges, snow shoes, etc. Occasionally a 
missionary, more energetic than usual, squeezes a school-room out of 
this attic, where he patiently teaches reading, writing, arithmetic and 
natural history to a dozen Swedes and Lapps. In this cubby-hole 
he places the desks, ink-pots, maps and globes, with which the educa- 



LAPP SCHOOL AND CHURCH 


326 

tional authorities of Sweden supply him, and proceeds cheerfully to the 
task of pushing a few facts into the benighted minds of half a dozen tall 
young Swedes and perhaps as many more chubby Lapps. 

On Sunday he dresses himself in a gown, and, standing before a 
plain, board altar, faces a congregation of thirty or forty men and women, 
indistinguishable, except that the sexes are separated as in a quaker 
meeting. Strict attention is paid to his ten-minute sermon, and every¬ 
body joins in the singing whenever he pleases and goes on at his own 
pace. The choir is composed of Lapp youths who are led by an anxious- 
looking man of their nationality, armed with a forest stick which he osten¬ 
sibly carries for the beating of time. The leader of the choir becomes 
more anxious and alert than ever, when the sermon commences. But 
woe be to the young Lapp who has eaten too much reindeer venison, 

reindeer cheese, rein¬ 
deer butter, or has 
drunk too much rein¬ 
deer whey, or has 
otherwise had so inti¬ 
mate an association 
with reindeer as to 
succumb to a full 
stomach and a heavy 
head, and go to sleep 
in church. The stick 
carried by the leader 
of the choir chucks 
the youth smartly 
under the chin, and 
when he awakes he 
is given a look of 
indignant reproof. 

These nomadic Lapps wandering over fells and moors in search of 
the white moss or lichen, on which the reindeer depend, a dozen persons 
of both j^exes crowding into tents of half a dozen feet square, and sharing 
these quarters, with their dogs — these are the true descendants of the 
ancient Lapp. 1 hese are they who are so proud, and who, remember¬ 
ing the extent of their ancient territory, are so callous to civilizing influ¬ 
ences. 

But the reindeer furnishes them with all that they reauire in the way 
of locomotion or food. The skin of the animal’s le^fs, which has to with- 
stand the sharp ice and crusts of snow, as he drags his burdens over the 



A LAPLAND CHURCH. 






























































LAPP SCHOOL AND CHURCH. 


327 


country, is thick and tough ; his hoofs are as if they were shod with 
iron. In Lapland one will readily travel ten miles an hour all day; and 
it is recorded that a reindeer (now dead) once drew a government mes¬ 
senger, who was in a great hurry, eight hundred miles in two days. 
The portrait of the deer is still preserved in a royal palace in Sweden. 

The meat of the dear is cooked fresh and made into soup, when it 
is eaten right from the kettle scalding hot; it is dried and smoked and 
cut into thin slices, or pounded into a paste and made up into cakes. 
The Lapp drinks the milk fresh, makes it into a rich cheese or butter, 
and extracts from the cheese an oil which orevents bad results from the 
freezing of his limbs. He distils a drink from the whey which is highly 
intoxicating, but not so raw as the vile finkel. The reindeers skin is 
shelter and clothing, and his tendons are thread. The women prepare 
this by rolling the tendons upon their “ cheeks,” and the result is a 
thread which is wonderfully strong and durable. And the sale of articles 
which are made from different portions of the deer’s anatomy and are 
not wanted at home, is a means of supplying the Lapp with outside 
luxuries such as su^ar, coffee and bread. The deer needs no housing 
and does not even require to be fed; for once driven to a favorable 
locality, the animal seeks the snow line, beyond which he will find his 
starchy, nutritious food, even if it is six or seven feet beneath the surface. 
Antlers, hoofs and nose all assist him to uncover the fodder, and the 
Lapp’s work is merely to direct his dogs to keep the animal in sight. 
The colder the country the more tender and nourishing the moss. Moss, 
reindeer, country and Lapp are adapted to each other, and the mamstay 
of this poor little man can never be transported. But during the winter 
it is sometimes difficult to find moss, even though the Lapp himself does 
not hunt for it; and, with the reindeer, perishes the owner. So that, 
with all, the Laplanders are dying out as a tribe. They have no idea of 
sanitary precautions, either in eating or drinking. They are filthy and 
lazy. They are dead, though living. 

The Lapps have been crowded into the most dreary portions of 
that rugged European peninsula, which hangs out like a hammer of Thor 
ready to drop into the raging, icy oceans. Between the barriers of ice 
and those of stronger races they are firmly imprisoned in their graves. 
The tribes of Northeastern Siberia were pressed to the Arctics as were 
the Lapps but many found an escape open to them across the strait or 
by way of a chain of islands which is all but a neck of land connecting 
the two hemispheres. Many who find the original country of the Lapps 
in Finland also derive the origin of the name from the Finnish “ lappi,” 
or runaways. Furthermore in the word they discover a fragment of 


328 


Lapp school and church. 


their histor) , icasoning' that the Lapps, at an early day, deserted the 
Finns for their northern homes. Ikit whatever the cause of their separa¬ 
tion from the mother country, the Lapps seem to be even purer 
creatures of circumstance than the majority of Arctic peoples. 

Certain learned men who have an intense longing to enunciate 
startling generalties conclude that Lapps, Samoyeds, Esquimaux and 
Greenlanders, who inhabit the same frozen latitudes, were originally the 
same people. They suppose the Lapps to have descended from the 
White Sea toward Norway and Sweden, while the Finns ascended from 
Esthonia. 





TOWARD BEHRING STRAIT. 

THE BURIATS. 


HE central portions of Southern Siberia around Lake Baika 
and toward the Upper Lena River are occupied by the most 
numerous of the Mongolian races outside of the Chinese 
Empire. Though divided into a number of small tribes, 
collectively they number nearly a quarter of a million of 
souls, and are substantially one people in their customs and 
intellectual peculiarities. They are unflinching adherents of 
Lamaism, and fought like wolves against the Russians, in the 
middle of the seventeenth century, as much to retain their 
religion as their national freedom ; even to this day they are 
uncommunicative and suspicious, seeing in every stranger, especially 
a Russian, some emissary of a religious sect sent out to draw them away 
from the faith of their fathers. How long they have been Buddhists 
(for Lamaism is but a form of Buddhism into which have been grafted 
many Mongolian superstitions) history saith not ; but it is known that 
Buddhism was introduced into Thibet, in the seventh century, by a wise 
prince of that country who had two wives, one from China and one 
from India, and both devotees of that faith. 

A RELIGIOUS CENTER. 

The head of the Lama religion dwells at the capital of Thibet, 
and the head of Siberian Lamaism is found at the holy village of 
.Souggira, in the Buriat province of Irkutsch. He is supposed to be 
the incarnation of a former saint of religion, and when he dies the 
infant into which his soul passes is taken to a monastery and educated 
by the “ kharpo,” or master, in the mysteries of Lamaism. There are 
so many orders of the religion and so many members of these orders 
that fully one-eighth of the population of the Buriats are Lamas. 

With the exception of the begging Lamas (virtue beggars) all are 

monks or nuns, vowed to celibacy. The female Lamas are called 

329 


























































330 


A RELIGIOUS CENTER. 


sisters-in-law, venerable aunts, etc. The Lama determines when is the 
auspicious day for marriage, and when the body of the deceased is to 
be exposed. Interment of the dead is forbidden. When the coming 
demise of a wealthy or distinguished person is reported to the Lama, 
his duty is to assist the departure of the soul by making a small hole in 
the scalp. The breath having left the body, the priest says countless 
masses for the departed soul until it has been released by Yama, the 
infernal judge ; after which the corpse is burned. Bodies of the com¬ 
mon people are either devoured by beasts and birds of prey, or by 
sacred dogs kept for the purpose. The Lamas also make and sell idols, 
amuletb, relics and consecrated pills. 

Fasts and religious festivals are numerous, and in the streets of the 
villages and all along the highways small chapels, wheels for grinding 



NATIVE SIBERIANS. 


out prayers, flags inscribed with prayers and hoisted upon consecrated 
poles, with other like paraphernalia, keep the religion of the country 
constantly before the people. These praying machines consist of a 
sort of hollow barrel, which turns on an axis and in which the prayers, 
written on a great many little scrolls, are turned about. Some are 
colossal and move by wind or water, or are operated by special turners, 

or merely kicked into motion by passers-by ; others are small and carried 
in the hand. 

At sunrise, noon and sunset the Lamas assemble to recite prayers 
and sacred texts, the worship being accompanied by hideous braying of 
horns and trumpets and a beating of drums. The Lamaic temples 
which may be seen throughout the country are square and always face 







THE GOOD OF LAMAISM. 


331 

the south. Entering the main hall, with Its two parallel rows of col¬ 
umns, one sees beyond, first the chief idol, then the altar, and lastly the 
Lama on his throne. Gods are not worshiped, but the essence of all 
that is holy Is comprised in the three precious jewels, the Buddha, 
the doctrine, and the priesthood. 

Beneath these are the good and evil spirits, the Lamas standing be¬ 
tween them and the laity. The unpardonable sin is to ridicule the 
Lama and his holy office, and persist in the offense. Impediment of 
speech, giddiness, loss of reason and death is the portion of such in this 
world, and in the next their souls will never know rest. Any offense to 
a Lama annihilates the merit acquired by a thousand generations of holi¬ 
ness ; but if one sincerely implore, during a whole day, the benediction 
of a Lama, all the sins committed during Innumerable generations are 
effaced. Women are regarded as unclean, and are not allowed to ap¬ 
proach the temple altars. 

THE GOOD OF LAMAISM. 

But with all the superstitions attaching to Lamaism it has its good 
parts. In a way it encourages the people to strive after education. 
Every Buriat would like to see at least one member of his family enter 
the priesthood, and this wish creates a desire that his children shall learn 
to read and write. It is this desire more than any other cause that has 
lifted the Buriats above their Mongollan-Tartar neighbors; and though 
there is no literature, several of the natives have acquired considerable 
eminence in science. Neither are the Lamas to be considered of no 
benefit to the country, except in an Indirect way. Many of the princi¬ 
ples of morality and charity inculcated by them are productive of good, 
and their own abstemious habits and precepts are much needed among 
a people who, like all the tribes of Siberia, are given to drunkenness and 
excess. 

Besides the teachers of the faith and the priests who officiate at the 
ceremonials and take charge of the forms of religion, the church sends 
forth among the people a class of Lamas who devote themselves entirely 
to the study and practice of medicine. At the same time that they en¬ 
deavor to heal the sick they extend an Influence over his spiritual nature, 
which is not to be compared to that which is cast over it by the Shaman 
sorcerer ; for Shamanism still has a following even among the Buriats. 

THE LAMA AND SHAMAN. 

The Lama, also, is an example of industry ever before the Buriat, 
while the Shaman lives purely by the exercise of his wits in throwing 5 
spell of terror over the ignorant. In cases of Illness the Shaman caters 


332 


H UR I AT HKAUTIKS. 


to the taste of his people, and a quantity of intoxicating liquor, added to 
his incantations and sacrifices, is his principal remedy. If his bowlings 
and ceremonials to propitiate the evil spirit who has created the disease 

have no effect, and the man dies, he falls 
back upon the excuse which is always in 
stock with the sorcerers of all lands—that 
the sacrifice was inappropriate. If the Sha¬ 
man is called in to decide upon the guilt of 
a person, he places his drum, and his leather 
apron, which is covered with metal plates, 
before a fire. The defendant is stood near 
the sacred things, facing the sun, and swears 
to his innocence with the Shaman’s sharp 
eyes upon him. Butter is then thrown upon 
the fire by the sorcerer; the accused steps 
over the drum and the apron, at the same 
time taking great gulps of the smoke as he 
looks up at the sun to express a hope that 
he shall never more receive from it lieht or 
heat if he has sworn falsely. As if this were 
not enough,Mr. Shaman produces his official 
bear, which he leads up to the party on trial 
and requests him to bite the head of bruin. 
The bear returns a verdict of not guilty if 
he suffers this indignity in patience; if he 
resents it the man becomes a criminal. 

BURIAT BEAUTIES. 

In general appearance the Buriats re¬ 
semble the Chinese, their complexion, how¬ 
ever, having more of a ruddy tinge. Attired 
in close-fitting dresses, their figures tall and 
graceful, with dark, sparkling eyes, the 
women are not beneath the notice of mod¬ 
ern society beauties. Those of the wealthier 
classes allow their thick hair to fall from the 
temples in two long braids, the forehead 
being bound with a fillet which is studded 
with pearl beads and coral ornaments. The priests are allowed to shave 
their heads; otherwise the men wear the Mongolian queue, cutting the 
hair short except on the crown of the head. Many of the wealthier 


















































































THE HOLY SEA. 


333 


Buriats live in houses, which exhibit a curious mixture of modern civiliza¬ 
tion and ancient savagery. I here is the hole dug in the ground for the 
fireplace, with fine mats and cushions arranged around it for sleeping, 
and a piece of unique Russian furniture pushed up against the wall. 
1 he huts of the poorer classes are some twenty feet in diameter, being 
made of a light framework covered with leather in summer and with 
thick felt in winter 

Tn certain lines of work the Buriats are considered by the Russians 
more skillful than the Europeans. They make a tinder bag of velvet, 
to which are attached finely-tempered plates of steel, which is considered 
superior to those imported from Europe. Their riding furniture is also 
beautifully ornamented with inlaid plates of iron, copper and silver; while 
their silver pipes, adorned with reliefs and inlaid with pink coral, would 
do credit to any workman. 

THE HOLY SEA. 

Lake Baikal, which is the center of the Buriat’s country, is called by 
the natives the Holy Sea ; and it no doubt received this appellation 
when Shamanism held a tight rein over them. Many stories are told of 
its wonders : how it has no bottom, and how no one has ever sunk into 
its holy depths, for when a person is drowned his body is always cast 
upon its shores. It abounds in fish, but not of the common sort. There 
is one, called the golomain, which is never caught by man ; but when the 
tempests rage — and Lake Baikal is truly tempestuous — it is thrown 
upon its shores, and at the first approach of the sun’s rays it melts into 
oil, leaving only the skeleton and the skin. 

Although Lake Baikal is the largest fresh-water lake in the Eastern 
Continent, in it are found and killed thousands of the ocean seal. Its 
shores in many places are precipitous and wild. Steep cliffs rise from 
the water’s edge a thousand feet and pitch another thousand into its 
clear depths. Gaping ravines run down to Its shores, filled with great 
masses of lava, and hot springs gush from the mountain sides as If to warm 
Its cold bosom. It Imprisons many rivers; only one escapes — the An¬ 
gora—and that with such impetuosity that its outward current Is never 
stayed by the Icy clutch of the most rigorous Siberian winter; when the 
lake and all adjacent waters are locked fast in six feet of ice, the wild duck 
is floating upon Its rapids. Beyond Is a gloomy succession of sandstone 
cliffs and forests of pine, stationed along the river on either side in solid 
phalanx. .Soon the valley becomes wider, and the cliffs grow Into mount¬ 
ains, and the forests get blacker, and the waters of the river gather 





334 


THE YAKUTS. 


themselves and bound along in mightier torrents. Just as they are 
about to shoot and seethe down a steep incline, four miles in length, 
they are met midway by a mighty mass of rock—the Shaman Kamen, 
or Spirit’s Stone. Full half a mile from either shore, with his hands tied 
fast, the victim of Shaman superstition was tossed into the waters which 
foamed around its base, and as his cries were lost in the river’s bed, the 
deluded Buriats turned away from its overhanging heights, satisfied that 
the anger of some evil god had been fully appeased. 

% 

THE YAKUTS. 

Along the Lena River from its source to its mouth, and for a great dis¬ 
tance both east and west, are the Yakuts, most of whom have been made 
members of the Greek church by a ukase of the Czar of Russia. Strange as 
it may seem to thus attempt to adopt a people into the body of a church 
by autocratic action, the attempt was a success, insomuch as the Yakuts 
as a people abandoned the gross forms of idolatry which had been their 
portion for generations. Human sacrifice had even been common 
among them, and it was also customary for them to bury the favorites 
of a great man, alive with him, that he might have as good service here¬ 
after as in this life. But these horrors are now abandoned, althoueh a 
belief in Shamanism still exists among some of them. A horse-hair 
attached to the bough of a forest tree in the days of the old dispensation, 
was thought to be a sure charm against bad spirits, and these evi¬ 
dences of the old faith are occasionally seen even now. 

A HORSE-EATING PEOPLE. 

The horse, in fact, is as much their mainstay as the cow is with the 
Caffre of Africa, or the reindeer with many of the Hyperboreans. 
Though they have large herds of cattle, they use them more for riding 
than for food, while the horse is most prized as a meat creature. The 
strongest evidence which can be given a newly-made husband that his 
bride will be acceptable during their future life, is for her to present him at 
the wedding feast with a horse’s head, nicely boiled and garnished with 
horse sausage. So fond are they, in fact, of equine flesh, it is an ancient 
saying that four Yakuts will eat a horse; and yet they have the same 
feeling for their domesticated beasts as other tribes have for the tame 
reindeer. Not understanding this distinction, a European who was travel¬ 
ing with a party of them, finding their stock of provisions reduced to a 
few cranberries and nuts, suggested that they kill one of their horses. 


YAKUT MANUFACTURERS. 


335 


The Yakuts replied that they never so far forgot themselves, until no 
morsel of food had passed their lips for five whole days. They are often 
seen with their arms around their horses’ necks, embracing them as if 
they were human beings; but while journeying they keep them on such 
slender rations as to appear to have no regard for them. They explain 
this treatment on the theory that they are more animated and really 
stronger when given just enough to keep them from starving ; at least, 
that this treatment is far preferable to a generous diet. Should one of 
their horses be injured on the journey so as to become permanently use¬ 
less, however, they throw aside their girdles and proceed to the feast. 
When unable to obtain the flour which the Russian merchants barter for 
their furs, they peel the bark from the fir or larch tree, and taking the 
inner portion pound it in a mortar, mixing the “meal ” with milkordried 
fish. Melted butter is also drunk in enormous quantities, often prepared 
in such a way as to produce intoxication. Potatoes, turnips and cab¬ 
bages form about the entire vegetable diet of the Yakut, and the cultiva¬ 
tion of these articles is almost confined to Yakutsk and vicinity. 

The Yakuts prize the milk they obtain from mares much more 
highly than cow’s milk, and, in truth, it is said to be far more nourishing. 
From this milk they make a fermented drink which is highly intoxicat¬ 
ing. At certain seasons when the milk can be obtained in abundance, 
they indulge in a regular jubilee, draining huge bowls of the stuff, while 
the weaker sex look jealously on, or smoke themselves into a state of 
semi-consciousness. This drink is called “aruigui,” or milk brandy — 
the same word which is in use by the Turkish Tartars. Their words 
for the Deity, for their fishing gear, for iron and many other things, are 
also Turkish, which, in addition to traditions of a southern origin which 
are common among them, make it quite probable that they were driven 
north by their fierce Tartar neighbors. In short, their language has so 
much of the Turkish element in it that it can be generally understood in 
Constantinople. These facts bearing upon their apparent origin, coupled 
to their good-nature and mild disposition, seem to license the Russian to 
take every possible advantage of them and domineer over them to his 
heart’s content. 

YAKUT MANUFACTURES. 

Notwithstanding their lack of independence the Yakuts are, 
undoubtedly, the most thrifty and industrious of all the nations of 
Northern Asia. They make beautiful ornamental work out of deer¬ 
skins, sewing into them the most intricate and tasteful figures. The 
felt floor-cloths which they make up into mosaic patterns are so skill- 


336 


THE YAKUTS’ CITY. 


fully manufactured that the Russians purchase them to send into Europe. 
They are also noted as workers of iron, and the steel blades which they 
manufacture are so finely tempered that they will cut through copper or 
pewter as easily as the best European blades. The handles of their 
knives are ornamented with figures, which are first cut into the wood 
and then filled with tin. The sheaths are of birch-bark, covered with 
leather on which are also metallic ornaments. It is quite certain that 
these arts were not learned from the Russians, but rather from the 
nomads of the steppes and mountains. 

The Yakuts have the low stature and the complexion common to 
the Mongolian; but, unlike either Mongols or Tartars of pure blood, some 
of their women are quite pretty. 

When riding his ox or horse the Yakut wears a yellow leather robe. 
His water-proof boots are made of horse skin, steeped in sour milk, 
smoked and thoroughly rubbed with fat and fine soot. The sole is made 
from the same leather, and the point of the toe turns upward. These 
boots, which are greatly prized by the Russians, are called “ torbosas,’ 
and form a not unimportant source of the Yakut’s revenue. When 
the Yakut is at home he lives in a “ yurt,” with a fiat roof through which 
is cut a smoke hole. His fire-hearth, opposite the low door, is made of 
clay raised above the floor. The wooden walls of his hut are also cov¬ 
ered with a thick layer of clay. Round the sides of the room the fioor 
is elevated for a width of six feet or more ; here the Yakut sleeps and 
works at his various occupations. Those who are not employed are sit¬ 
ting on rude stools before the fire, and although they thoroughly enjoy 
that occupation, they are very hospitable, and are not loth to give up 
their seats to the stranger or friend who comes in from without. The 
furnishings of an average yurt consist of these stools, an iron pot in the 
fire-place, a few, skins to sleep on. and any quantity of fishing-gear. A 
half a dozen dogs or more complete the picture. 

The industrious habits of the Yakuts make them more retiring than 
most of the tribes of Siberia, and they do not rove for the mere love of 
moving about, but only to find pasturage for their horses and cattle. 
Those who live in the regions of the far north have neither of these 
animals to depend upon, and are obliged to hunt and fish in order to 
exist, using their great packs of dogs to drag them to and fro. 

THE YAKUTS’ CITY. 

The province of Yakutsk, to which these people give the name, is 
as large as half of Europe, and its capital (which also goes by that name) 


THE YAKUTS’ CITY. 


337 


they proudly call the city of the Yakuts. In their city are the govern¬ 
ment buildings, the wooden houses of the Russians, and their own 
winter huts, which are more metropolitan than those already described. 
The temperature at Yakutsk takes freaks occasionally of dropping to 6o 
degrees or 70 degrees below zero, and these are the times when the 
Yakuts’ houses of ice come into orood service. 

O 

They are thus described by an eye-witness : The winter dwellings 
of the people have doors of rawhides, and log or wicker walls calked with 
manure and flanked with banks of earth to the heio^ht of the windows. 

o 



The latter are made of sheets of ice, kept in their place from the out¬ 
side by a slanting pole, the lower end of which is fixed in the ground. 
They are rendered air-tight by pouring on water, which quickly freezes 

round the edges. The flat roof is 
covered with earth, and over the 
door, facing the east, the boards 
project, making a covered place in 
front. Under the same roof are 
the winter shelters for the cows. 
The fire-place consists of a wicker 
frame plastered over with clay, 
room being left for a man to pass 
between the fire-place and the wall. 
The hearth is made of beaten earth, 
and on it there is at all times a blaz¬ 
ing fire of larchwoodlogs. Young 
calves are often brought into the 
house to the fire, while their moth¬ 
ers cast a contented look through 
A YAKUT wcMAx. the opeii door at the back of the 

fire-place. Behind the fire-place, too, are the sleeping places of 
the people, which in the poorer dwellings consist only of a continuation 

of the straw laid in the cow-house. 

The summer huts of the town natives are formed of poles about 
twenty feet long, which are united at the top into a roomy cone, covered 
with pieces of bright yellow birch-bark, which are not only joined 
together, but handsomely worked along the seams with horse-hair thread. 

Yakutsk has the questionable honor of being the coldest town in 
the universe. In the winter the earth freezes to the depth of fifty feet. 
And yet in what, in a temperate climate, would be considered the sever¬ 
est weather, the Yakut women will go about the streets with bare arms. 

A tourist says that one day when the thermometer stood at 9 degrees, he 
22 





338 


FALLEN STARS. 


'‘found the children of both sexes running about quite naked, not only 
in the houses but in the open air. In fact, the great cold is not thought 
a grievance in Siberia, for a man clothed in furs may sleep at night in 
an open sledge when the mercury freezes in the thermometer ; and, 
wrapped up in his pelisse, he can lie without inconvenience on the snow, 
under a thin tent, when the temperature of the air is thirty degrees 
below zero.” 

FALLEN STARS. 

Roaming along the shores of the Arctic Ocean far to the north of 
the metropolitan Yakuts, is a degraded tribe called the Yakughirs. 
They have a legend which says that at one time their hearths on the 
banks of the Kolima River were more numerous than the stars in the 
heavens, but now they are reduced to a few hundred. On the banks of 
other rivers which water their ancient territory are great burial mounds, 
from which have been dug corpses armed with bows, arrows and spears ; 
so that, in contrast with their present weakness, the above hyperbole is 
allowed when dwelling upon their former greatness. During the spring 
and autumn, clouds of gnats and mosquitoes drive the reindeer from the 
woods into the streams of the Yakughirs’ country. Now is the time for 
them to issue forth and prove their ancient prowess, as well as to reap a 
harvest of food and clothing. Concealing themselves in their canoes on 
both sides of the stream, they await the approach of the reindeer squads, 
each headed by an antlered chief. When the pestered brutes have fairly 
taken to the water, the Yukaghir warriors unmask their batteries of 
long spears, and, cutting off escape from either shore, slaughter them by 
the hundreds. What portion of the animals they do not use for food, 
clothing and shelter they dispose of to traveling merchants or at district 
fairs for tobacco and brandy. Men, women and children smoke and 
drink. 

THE TUNGOOSES. 

Between the Yenesei and the Lena rivers in the north, and along the 
northern slopes of the Alta Mountains to the Sea of Okhotsk, in the 
south, dwell the Tungooses. They may be said to occupy most of South¬ 
eastern Siberia. Of the tribes of Siberia they are among the most inde¬ 
pendent and hardy, and for centuries gave China no end of trouble ; a 
branch of their race, in fact, are rulers of that great empire. A thousand 
years before Christ’s time these people, whom the Chinese called Tung- 
5100 (Eastern barbarians), were living in the forests and mountains 
north of the Celestial. Empire, feeding and eating their swine ; greasing 


THEIR FOREFATHERS. 


339 


fieir bodies in winter, the better to repel the severe cold ; in summer 
^oing virtually naked ; covering themselves with hogs’ skins when forced 
to wear a little clothing ; dwelling in subterranean caverns, deep or shallow, 
according to the standing of the dweller as a member of the tribe; 
stamping with their feet upon the meat to make it tender, and sitting 
upon it to thaw it out; burying their dead at once, and sacrificing a hog 
to the manes ; or using the corpses as a bait for martens, thus gathering 
many soft and beautiful furs—a terror to their savage neighbors, and.a 
menace even to the Empire of China. But for more than a millen¬ 
nium the barbarians and the Celestials had intercourse with each other, 
the Tungooses sending, now and then, tributes of arrow heads, bows, 
cuirasses and marten skins as evidences of their friendship and depend¬ 
ency. China was busy gathering into her embrace the Mongols and 
1 artars who surrounded her, and about twelve hundred years,ago suc¬ 
ceeded in uniting the hordes or tribes of her barbarous neighbor into 
one nation. But it afterwards slipped from her control, and as an inde¬ 
pendent kingdom, extended its sway over part of Corea. Now subject 
to China, now to Kussia now independent, the Tungooses got so that 
they could read, fatten cattle, work in iron, build fortified cities, cultivate 
silk and hemp, and continued industriously in the ways of war. 

THEIR FOREFATHERS. 

The northern tribes, however, from whom most of the Tungooses 
of the present are descended, continued in their savage ways, and never 
were incorporated into the Mantchoosof the Chinese Empire. They were 
ten days to the north of their more civilized brethern, and lived in an 
excessively cold country. In the winter they retired to the caves of the 
mountains. Those who could not raise swine, on account of the severity 
of their climate, lived by fishing and dressed in fish skins. Many of the 
characteristics of these diverse tribes are seen in the Tungooses, as they 
are now found in Southeastern Siberia. 

As we have stated, they are very independent, and although many 
of them have been brought into the pale of the Greek Church and pay 
a willing tribute of furs to the Russian Government, they cannot be 
driven, even by an overbearing Cossack official. They are brave and 
robust, fine archers and excellent horsemen ; of good form and agile, 
with small well-formed noses, thin beard, black hair and an agreeable 
expression of countenance. Their senses are wonderfully acute and 
their memory for the natural objects they meet in their wanderings, is 
truly wonderful. It is said that they will minutely describe these through 
a journey of a hundred miles, so as to point out the road. Like the 



340 


THE NATIVE HUNTSMAN. 


Indian, they follow game by the slightest marks left upon the moss, 
grass or leaves. Over nearly a third of Siberia, they pitch their rein¬ 
deer tents, both riding the deer and using him as a pack animal ; travel¬ 
ing over such a vast expanse of country, their memory must constantly 
be in exercise. 

There are settled rearers of cattle among the Tungooses, but as a 
race they are nomads. Some prefer to wander in the forests and sel¬ 
dom venture upon the treeless wastes ; they are called Forest Tun¬ 
gooses. Those who choose the opposite life are known as Tungooses 
of the steppes, and are divided, according to the animals of draught 
they employ, into the Reindeer, the Horse and Dog Tungooses. When 
dressed for a journey, they do not differ greatly in appearance from 
other fur-clad Siberians, except that their fur hood, which often hangs 

loose from the neck, is apt to be of quite 
an artistic pattern—made of the legs of 
red, black and silver-grey foxes, sewed 
together in alternate stripes and bordered 
with sable, beaver or otter. They cut 
their hair short, with the excption of a 
%i'lom^ lock on either side, of which the 
young are very proud. 

THE NATIVE HUNTSMAN. 


When the household provisions are 
exhausted, the Tungoose points out to his 
wife the direction of his journey, and 
their ultimate camping place. This may 
be scores of miles across the dreary steppes. 
But they have every foot of the country 
mapped in their minds. So shouldering 
his clumsy Siberian rifle, and calling his dog, he leaves his better half to 
pack the tent, the property and the children on the reindeers’ back. 
Arriving at the proposed camping place, the wife pitches the tent and 
awaits the return of her husband. The man has donned his birchwood 
snow shoes and entered a forest. Taking his hand for a moment from 
his fur glove, the hunter runs it into a deer track in the snow, and decid¬ 
ing that the animal has lately passed, proceeds cautiously on his way, 
restraining his too eager and obtrusive dog. Arriving at length to an 
opening in the forest, he cautiously peers through the branches of a 
tree, and sees a noble animal with its head down, scarping the snow 
from the litchens with its long horn, or tearing up the crust with its feet 





A TUNGOOSE. 









MOUXTIXC TIIK REIXDEKR. 


341 


and rooting’ around in tl'je soft snow, underneath, like a pig. It is a 
welcome sight to our Tungoose, and silently breaking two forked sticks 
from the tree, he j^laces his weapon upon the rest, and waiting until the 
animal presents a fair mark, speeds his tiny bullet to a vital spot. 

rhough the wild reindeer is a standard article of food among the 
1 ungooses, the tame reindeer is never killed except under the severest 
stress of circumstances. The rule is that the native must eo at least 

O 

eight days without food, before he can slaughter his household god. 
And though he should be starving he would long hesitate before he laid 
violent hands upon another’s property; for if the Tungoose be convicted 
of theft or robbery, he is an outcast from the race. 

MOUNTING THE REINDEER. 

When the Tungoose uses his reindeer foi riding, he is obliged to be 
very careful how he mounts his steed, which has very strong shoulders 
and a remarkably weak back. Whether the deer is a pack animal or a 
riding one, the saddle is always placed close to the neck, and girthed 
from the back part just behind the fore-legs of the steed. The saddle 
is nothing but a Hat cushion, bent upwards behind so that the rider will 
not slip down upon the weak back of the reindeer. The rider takes a 
pole about five feet long, and holding the bridle in his right hand and 
the staff in the other, he places his left foot in the saddle, and vaults 
into it from the right side of the animal. Whether man or woman, the 
rider is obliged to mount in this fashion, for should an attempt be made 
to get into the saddle by using the shoulder as a support — which is the 
only part of the reindeer capable of bearing a weight — the unavoidable 
jerk will displace the whole apparatus. Without doubt, the Tungoose 
has studied the subject in all its bearings, and hit upon the only possible 
way of mounting a reindeer without breaking its back. Once mounted, 
an equilibrium is maintained (to say nothing of grace) by keeping the 
heels in motion, like two trip-hammers, behind the animal’s shoulders ; 
the mounting staff also being used as a balancing pole. 

TRAPPING AND EATING. 

When the Tungooses set out upon a trapping excursion, they often 
leave their families hundreds of miles away. Each man harnesses him¬ 
self to a light sled, upon which he places his provisions, and scant 
baggage. After the company have built a yurt, each man starts out to 
set his traps, and dig pit-falls in the frozen earth. These are visited 
daily, and within a couple of months, foxes, squirrels, sables, beavers, 




342 


TRAPPING AND EATING. 



wolves and bears have all become a prey to their ingenuity. An ingen¬ 
ious method of capturing the bear is to fasten a wooden platform, 
covered with barbed iron spikes, to a tree, placing at the farther end a 
piece of meat. The trap is placed so high from the ground that the bear is 
obliged to stand on his hind legs to reach even its middle, to say nothing 
of the tempting piece of meat beyond. But the animal is sure to make 
the attempt, and to become so impaled that he is easily killed by the 
hu ntsman. 

The season being over the party disperses, the provident going to 
one of the numerous town fairs which are being held, and bartering the 
skins for food, weapons of the chase or other necessaries. The improvi¬ 
dent, who perhaps will be in the majority, end their season of hardship 
and danger by days of carousal and brandy-drinking, and return home as 
empty-handed as when they left, with the exception, it may be, of a 

goodly supply of 
meat which they 
and their families 
immediately pro¬ 
ceed to devour en 
masse. 

The quantities 
of food which 
these natives will 
devour at a sitting 
is almost incred¬ 
ible. Equally re¬ 
markable is the 
length of time 
HUNTERS OF SIBERIA. during wliicli they 

will go without a mouthful. A moderate meal of three healthy 
Tungooses is thus enumerated by a veracious traveler: A gallon 
kettle of hot tea; a four-quart pailful of boiled fish and soup ; the 
same pail twice filled with boiled beef—-all eaten and bones eagerly 
cracked; the pail again filled with a native mash and also emptied ; 
an unmentionable quantity of dried fish, skin and all. The traveler 
then records the fact that the arrival of others made it necessary for his 


dainty friends to betake themselves to a camp-fire outside his tent, and 
that the last he heard of them they were busy preparing other food, and 
loudly cracking other beef bones to get at the marrow. If they are able 
to keep awake after such a meal, one of their number is likely to bring 
forth a greasy pack of cards, or a chess board—evidences of both 





















AMOOR RIVER PEOPLE. 


343 


Russian and Chinese civilization — and if they can find sufficient shelter, 
they will pis.}' far into the night, their hearty laughter being interspersed 
with strong puffs from their pipes of tobacco. Both men and women 
are passionately fond of the weed. 

AMOOR RIVER PEOPLE. 

Allied to the Tungooses are the Lamuts, Monzhurs and Gilyaks 
of the Amoor River, whose principal prey is the rich salmon and the 
beautiful sable. The most striking feature of their physiognomy are 
their cheek-bones, which sometimes protrude to such an extent as to 
hide the remainder of the face, when viewed in profile. In their excur¬ 
sions up and down the river in their light, carved canoes, the women 
do the paddling, and, of course, do it gracefully and well. The man 
sits in the stern, guiding the craft and dreamily smoking his long¬ 
stemmed pipe. Literally speaking, he treats his dog with more tender¬ 
ness than his wife; the former he considers a sacred animal, uses him 
with consideration during his lifetime, and knows, after he himself dies, 
that his favorite dog will be sacrificed, and his own soul released from 
the body of the brute. On the other hand, upon his wife he shifts all 
the burdens, and when she is about to give birth to their child, she is 
thrust out of his hut, and left, for months, to herself and her fate. 
Winter’s snows or blasts have no effect in relaxing the hideous severity 
of this custom, and it is made the more unpardonable from the fact 
that all are forbidden (by whom, the people do not pretend to know) to 
furnish the unfortunate woman any shelter or assistance. However it 
comes about, it is nevertheless true that both children and adults seem 
weather-proof, and go roaming about barefooted in a temperature which 
would make any other people wrap their furs about them. 

THE KAMTCHATDALES. 

The entire peninsula of Kamtchatka, 100,000 square miles in area, 
was at one time inhabited by this tribe ; but disease, intemperance, Rus¬ 
sian oppression and suicide are fast placing them in the category of 
extinct races. They have the Mongolian features, with the flat face of 
the Tartar. The climate of the peninsula is quite severe for nine 
months of the year, although the temperature is seldom what could be 
called Arctic, since twenty degrees or twenty-five degrees below zero is 
an unusual fall of the mercury. 

Along the Kamtchatka River the soil is fertile, and the Russian 
settlers here raise oats, barley, rye, potatoes and garden vegetables. 



344 


1 


A KAMTCHATDALE VILLAGE. 


*:o tea and sugar liave been introduced by the Russians. Bread is no*.v 
made of rye, which the Kamtchatdales raise and grind for themselves ; 
but previous to the settlement of the country by the Russians, the only 
native substitute for bread was a baked dough made from the grated 
tubers of the purple lily. Wild cherries, blueberries and cranberries 
are picked in the fall, and frozen for winter consumption. A dish com¬ 
posed of sour milk, baked curds and sweet cream, covered with pow¬ 
dered sugar and cinnamon, is worthy of a place on an American table. 
In every river and lake in the peninsula are myriads of ducks, geese 
and swan, which are driven by organized squads of men into some 
narrow stream, across which is spread a net. Into this they rush, 
helter-skelter, where they are killed with clubs, and cleaned and salted 
for winter use. 

A KAMTCHATDALE VILLAGE. 

Unlike the Koriaks, who live to the north of them, the Kamtchat¬ 
dales have fixed habitations and live principally by fishing. Their 
villages are few in number and widely scattered, whilst their only means 
of transport are dog-sleds, pack-horses or canoes, the country being 
absolutely without a road throughout its 800 miles of length, and 250 
miles of breadth. These settlements are usually situated on an eleva¬ 
tion near some river or stream, surrounded by scattered clumps of poplar 
and yellow birch, and protected by high hills from the cold northern 
winds. Here and there, between the log houses are the conical struct¬ 
ures, elevated out of the reach of the dogs’ noses, and used for storing 
the fish ; while sprinkled around indiscriminately are the square frames 
of horizontal poles, in which salmon are piled and drying. Half a 
dozen canoes, turned bottom upward, and covered with fish nets, on the 
beach; clog sledges leaning against every house, the canines them¬ 
selves tied to heavy poles and snapping viciously at files and mosquitoes ; 
a domed and gaudily painted Greek church in the very center of these 
fishy odors and fishy things—this is the general mould into which all the 
native villages of Kamtchatka are run. 

O 

Until recently the inhabitants supported themselves almost entirely 
on the products of the chase, but since animals partially disappeared, 
and the people have declined in vigor, they devote most of their atten¬ 
tion to the milder amusement of catching herrings, cod and salmon. 
They depend mainly for subsistence upon the salmon, which every sum¬ 
mer run into the rivers of the North to spawn, when they are speared, 
caught in seines, and trapped in weirs by the millions. These fish, 
which are dried in the open air, are the staple article of food for the 
Kamtchatdale and his dog. 


345 


A KAMTClIA'l'DALK VILLAGE. 

I he mean annual temperature on the eastern coast of the peninsula 
is twenty-eight degrees, and on the western forty-three degrees, the 
average temperature of summer on the eastern coast being fifty-five 
degrees, and that of winter nineteen degrees. As a result of this not 
disagreeable division of summer and winter temperature, the natives 
have changes of clothing and of dwellings. In winter they dress in fur 
and wear nankeen in summer ; while in cold weather they live in very low 
or subterranean cabins and in summer raise their huts on poles some 
thirteen feet from the ground. The roofs are covered with a rough 
thatch of long coarse grass, or with overlapping strips of tamarack bark, 
and project at the ends and sides into wide overhanging eaves. The 



SIBERIAN DOG SLEDGE. 


window frames, although occasionally glazed, are more frequently 
covered with an irregular patchwork of translucent fish bladders, sewn 
together with thread made of the dried and pounded sinews of the rein¬ 
deer. The chimneys are long, straight poles, arranged in a circle and 
plastered over thickly with clay. 

It is the natives of Northern Kamtchatka who have the “zininia,” 
or winter settlement, composed of low, sheltered houses away from the 
coast, in which they reside from September to June; and the “letova,” 
or summer fishing station, located near the mouth of the river or stream, 
and consisting of the elevated huts to which they remove in June, and 
around which, in the salmon season, the usually inert natives ply their 































































346 


THE TRUE HYPERBOREANS. 


avocations with actual vigor. Here the fish are plump, fat and hara; 
while those who ascend nearer the source of the stream, sometimes 
working their way in water which scarcely covers them, are lean, dry and 
almost colorless; and further on, propelled by their destructive instinct 
they choke the streams and rivulets with their decaying bodies. 

As a rule, the natives live a peaceable, lazy life, being nominally 
governed by their own chiefs, who are under the jurisdiction of a Russian 
commissary. The chief duty of this official is to collect the small annual 
tribute of furs which is due the imperial government 

A lofty range of volcanic mountains traverses the country in a 
southwesterly direction, and earthquakes are frequent and violent. The 
Kamtchatdales have reason to stand in dread of these internal forces, 
and therefore sacrifice dogs to the evil spirits of the mountains. They 
believe in the immortality not only of man but of all creatures; that 
crimes punished in this world are passed over in the next; that in the 
hereafter the rich are to become poor and the poor rich; that Katchu, 
the Creator, left heaven after he had made the earth, and came to 
Kamtchatka, where his son and daughter married, and became the 
parents of offspring. These Divine children clothed themselves with the 
leaves of trees and fed upon bark. The son of Katchu invented nets, 
and took to fishing to meet the wants of a rapidly increasing family. 
Of all these gods the pagans have idols, although as a people they 
profess to be members of the Greek Church. 

THE TRUE HYPERBOREANS. 

In the Tchuktehis and the Koriaks, who hold the extreme north¬ 
eastern regions of Siberia against all efforts of the Russians either to 
subdue or dislodge them, we find the vanguard of that people who are 
scattered along the Asiatic and North American coasts for a distance 
of nearly six thousand miles, the most widely extended nation in the 
world. The Asiatic tribes appear to have in their constitutions far more 
of the fierce blood of Tartary than the kindred people across the strait, 
and it requires no great stretch of the imagination to understand how, 
from their ancestors might have sprung the fathers of the North Ameri¬ 
can savage, who wandered down the coast of the Western Continent 
and spread themselves throughout the vast expanse of their adopted 
country. 

Ethnologists have even attempted to trace a similarity in some of 
their present customs with those of the North American Indian, instanc' 
ing their remarkable proficiency in the use of the bow and arrow (com¬ 
mon also to the ancient Tungooses); the shaving of the head, punctur- 


p 


i 


EACH MAN HIS OWN MASTER 


347 


ing of the body and the wearing' of huge earrings. They are tall, 
vigorous and athletic, and their lower limbs are not so short as those of 
the North American Esquimaux. Impatient of restraint, bold and self- 
reliant, they wander over their country’s wilds with their great herds of 
reindeer; now stopping to give them welcome pasturage and pitching 



WINTER AND SUMMER HUTS. 

their circular tents on the steppes ; now braving the howling storm form 
tlie Arctic seas, and the famished Arctic wolves who furiously cast their 
shadowy forms into the midst of their terrified herds ; or creeping into 
their tents, covered with reindeer skins fastened together with lone 
thongs of seal or walrus hide, they crawl into their pologs, or tightly- 
sewed compartments, and breathing the fumes from the flaming moss 
and oil of their wooden lamps and from the large fire which is throwing 
forth as much smoke as heat, they enjoy the howling winds outside, and 
proceed to sleep the hours away. 

EACH MAN HIS OWN MASTER. 

vSo far as can be learned, these people have no laws, no institutions, 

no acknowledged leaders. They sometimes club together for mutual 
protection and convenience and are temporarily guided, as to their route 
of travel, by an esteemed member of the community, but if they are 
unable to agree, the company breaks up and each man, taking his wives, 















































































348 


KACII MAN HIS OWN MASTER. 


reindeer iind baggages pursues his separate way. Each man among 
them is as i^ood as another. 

Rank or caste is unknown, and the ingenious Shaman is put to his 
best tricks to overawe them. Although they sacrifice dogs, they have 
few superstitions compared to the majority of the pagan tribes of Siberia. 
One of their most singular customs, or superstitions — or call it what you 
will — is that which makes it an actual impossibility to obtain from them 
a live reindeer. They are passionately fond of liquor, especially of that 
produced from a species of toad-stool and called muk-a-mur. The 
natives can not cultivate it themselves, as the growth of the fungus 
requires a greater shade of timber than can be afforded by their barren 
steppes, and as its effects are so shattering to the system that its sale is 
made a penal offense by even Russian law, they find it very difficult to 

obtain the muk-a-mur. But for neither 
this drink nor for quantities of tobacco, 
of which also they are great lovers, was 
a Koriak or a Tchuktchis ever known to 
exchange a live reindeer; once killed, 
however, the most insignificant trinket will 
tempt him. This feeling is on a par with 
that which is evinced by the Tungoose, 
further south, who would almost starve to 
death rather than kill a tame reindeer for 
food. 

The people who are settled along the 
shores of the ocean support themselves 
chiefly by killing whales,seals and walruses. 

As to their amusements they are 
narrowed down to trials of skill with the 
bow and arrow, wrestling bouts and marriages. The young Koriak 
who has soft designs upon a maiden must serve her father a 
number of years, chopping the gnarled cedar from the frozen ground 
and cutting it into firewood, watching his herds of reindeer, making 
sledges, hunting and doing anything to make life more easy and pros¬ 
perous for the head of the family. Then he is summoned to learn his 
fate and undergo a barbarous ordeal. He and his intended are brought 
to a large tent containing many apartments, or pologs, ranged round it 
inside. In the center is a fire, around which are a number of men and 
women who are busily engaged ov^r such delicacies as marrow, frozen 
tallow, etc., and in a lively discussion of the probable outcome of the 
trial. They cease their eating, drinking and jabbering, at the regular 








EACH MAN HIS OWN MASTER. 


349 


beating of a large bass drum, and the tall master of ceremonies enters 
with an armful of willow switches which he proceeds to distribute in all 
the pologs. The music continues, it being varied by a wild chant sung 
by the drummer, when the curtains of the pologs are thrown up and 
the women divide their forces so as to guard the entrance of each, 
rhe musician now redoubles his exertions, and the men, who remain 
riround the fire, take up the chant and work themselves into a state of 
wild excitement over whatever is to come. 

The master of ceremonies gives a signal, and the girl, who is the 
center of attraction, raises the curtain of the first polog and passes in ; 
reappears almost immediately, and raises the curtain of the next, and 
so on around the tent, working in and out like an angleworm. But the 
eager young Koriak does not have so easy a passage around, for the 
women who have been stationed at the curtain of the pologs do every¬ 
thing they can to impede his progress—tripping him up and smothering 
him in the curtains and beating him with the switches. The drum is 
boomino-. the men are shoutintr, and the women screaminm as the dark- 
faced t^'irl dashes round the tent followed by her luckless wight. She 
at last brings up in the last polog and all eyes are strained to see if she 
lifts the curtain and emerges, for if she does, that poor young man is 
a discarded lover. But all is still as he plunges madly on, and amid 
shouts of laughter and applause rejoins his bride, breathless but happy. 

If, in generations to come, the descendants of this young Koriak 
couple, or the children of those Tchuktchis children should be found in 
North America, their personal appearance will be found to be similar, 
although they will have acquired many habits and beliefs which develop 
from climate, experience, soil, mountains, seas—in fact, from anything 
capable of producing a strong impression upon an ignorant but observing 
nature. They will retain faint memories of their Asiatic origin, which, 
as they descend from father to son and from mother to daughter and 
become weakened as they spread from tribe to tribe, will be designated 
by the more lofty title of tradition. 

Sino-ular to relate, this is what has actually happened. The tradi- 
tions of all the great American tribes of Indians, such as the Iroquois, 
the Algonquins and the Choctaws point to an Asiatic origin. Among 
the Hyperboreans of Asia there are several tribes, now nearly extinct, 
which have quite disappeared from history, leaving behind only mounds 
of earth along the banks of Siberian rivers, in which are buried the 
bows, arrows and spears of the lost peoples. Pressed north and east 
by hordes of Tartars and Mongols, who in turn were crowded on by 
inore powerful tribes, the Arctics were crushed into the extremity of 




350 


EACH MAN HIS OWN MASTER. 


the continent, and there was nothing for them to do but to venture 
across the strait and see what lay beyond. They crossed the Rubicon 
and henceforth were known as Americans, whether Esquimaux or 
Indians. They swarmed over the northern coasts, around Hudson 
Bay, Labrador and the Gulf of St, Lawrence, and down the western 
coast of British America into the interior. Ere long the two waves 
met; the straight, tall, athletic warriors, with their generally regular 
features, having passed to the south, met the broad-shouldered, massive 
and slow people from the north and drove them back into the icy 
regions. Thus the Algonquins pressed back the Esquimaux and the 
JJakotas, or “m.en of the salt water.” But, as the novelists say, we 
anticipate. We have crossed the strait when we merely should 
have reached it. 



» 



THE ESQUIMAUX. 


HE Hyperboreans of the Western Continent were given a 
name by the Algonquins, that great tribe of British-American 
Indians who disputed with them the country around the Gulf 
of St. Lawrence and finally expelled them. By them the 
Esquimaux were known as eaters of raw meat and fish ; hence 
the name Esquimaux, or raw eaters. They call them¬ 
selves Innuit, or men, and are divided into Greenlanders, 
Labrador Esquimaux, the Iglulik or central, the Western, and 
the Tchuktchis in Asia. The early Scandinavians called them 
Skroellingar, or wretches, and they were reconfirmed in 
their opinion of the Esquimaux when a body of raw-meat eaters came 
over from Labrador, some time in the fourteenth century, and expelled 
the Norwegians from Greenland. 

DOCTORS DISAGREE. 

Nearly every travder will differ in his description of the Esquimaux. 
If he happens to first see them in a boat, with their long bodies (from 
the waist up) and their broad shoulders, he will always fancy them as above 
the medium height; whereas if he catches his first glimpse of them on 
the land, done up in their great furs and waddling toward him, or rolling 
along on their short legs, he pronounces them to be, as to size, about on 
a par with the diminutive Lapps. The truth is they are of medium 
height, and might be above it if they did not squat so much in their low 
ice houses, or sit cramped in their long canoes and sledges, and thus 
retard the growth of their legs. 

There are as many disagreements about their color as in regard to 

their size. Some say their skin is brown, others say it is copper-colored, 

others that it is of a bluish tinge, and others still that their bodies are 

dark gray and their faces brown or blue. A close investigation into 

their filthy habits has led more than one authority to insist that the 

Esquimau, when in a state of nature, is nearly white ; that the child is 

as white as others ; but eating and handling grease and living in smokj’ 

351 



/ 

































352 


AN ESQUIMAUX COSTUME. 


huts, without knowing the use of water as a cleansing agent, are calciu 
lated to give the skin a variety of shades. Notwithstanding this differ¬ 
ence of opinion as to what is the complexion of the true Esquimaux, 
there are probably no people in the world who have so little intermixed 
with other races and whose features and general physique, as well as 
language, is so uniform. One interpreter who can speak the language 
can guide a traveler from Alaska to Labrador, and from Labrador to 
Greenland, holding communication with all the tribes, and always find¬ 
ing them with broad egg-shaped faces, and arched cheek-bones with few 
angular projections, even though the face is furrowed and weather¬ 
beaten. 

The other distinctive features of the face have been thus given : “ 1 he 
greatest breadth of the face is just below the eyes; the forehead tapers 
upwards ending narrowly but not acutely, and in a like manner the chin 
is a blunt cone; both the forehead and the chin recede, the egg outline 
showing in profile, though not so strongly as in front view. The nose 
is broad and depressed, but not in all, some individuals having prominent 
noses ; yet almost all have wider nostrils than the Europeans. The 
eyes have small and oblique apertures like the Chinese, and from fre¬ 
quent attacks of ophthalmia and the effects of camp smoke in their 
winter habitations, adults of both sexes are disfigured by excorated or 
ulcerated eyelids. The sight of these people is, from its constant exer¬ 
cise, extremely keen, and the habit of bringing the eyelids nearly 
together when looking at distant objects has in all the grown males 
produced a striking cluster of furrows radiating from the outer corner of 
each eye over the temple.” 

An Esquimau infant, with its red cheeks and comparatively regu¬ 
lar features, could easily be mistaken for a European ; but the sooty 
smoke of the winter hut, the atmosphere close and hot, alternating with 
Arctic blasts when the family move off on a hunting or fishing excursion, 
and the blinding rays of a spring sun, soon spoil the red cheeks and the 
presentable complexion, and as youth or maiden the Esquimaux face 
and figure are early fixed. If it is a boy his constant exercise in hunt¬ 
ing the seal and walrus give him when quite young a powerful set of 
arm, back and shoulder muscles. 

AN ESQUIMAUX COSTUME. 

The outer dress of the natives, both male and female, consists of 
breeches which come below the knees with a long-sleeved jacket, and a 
hood with a hole in the middle, but no side openings. The winter gar¬ 
ments are usually of seal-skin, the summer ones of reindeer—^ although 



AN ESQUIMAUX COSTUME 


353 


all kinds of fur are used. Sometimes even the skins of birds and fishes 
furnish the material, and the Polar hare skins are employed for orna¬ 
ments. The white fur of the deer may even border the hood, so that 
when it it drawn up over the head the contrast makes the native look 
like a very unangelic figure going around with a halo. Both sexes also 
wear boots which come up over the hips and are water tight. 

The distinction to be made in the costumes of male and female is 



AN ESQUIMAUX GROUP. 

one purely of quantity. The woman’s hood is large, because she uses 

it for her infant’s cradle ; while her boots are so constructed, with pockets 

and pouches, and a large sack near the thigh in which her child may also be 

safely stowed away, that her limbs look as large and clumsy as elephants’ 

legs. She usually puts them to the ground with the same caution and 

deliberation as the great-eared beast. When our lady reaches a trading 
23 




















354 


THE Esquimaux’ pride. 


settlement, the assertion is made that she unloads all superfluous baggage 
from hood and boot, and frequently departs with trinkets and necessi¬ 
ties of life which neither she nor her husband thought to pay for* 

Although the woman is treated more as a chattel than a human 

o 

being by the man, she is otherwise conscientious in providing for his 
wants ; she makes all his clothes, being especially skillful in dressing 
the hair of the reindeer-skin so as to render it soft and pliable. She is 
also a remarkable needle-woman, and spends the long winter in making 
fur garments which are both air-tight and water-proof. Knowing her 
lord’s hatred of water, she makes, among other things, a water-tight 
shirt from the intestines of the whale or the skins of young seals, which 
he puts on when he launches his canoe and starts on a hunt. 

Although put in the background as far as social position is con¬ 
cerned, and being, furthermore, but one of several wives, she is never¬ 
theless allowed a latitude in personal adornment which is denied to the 
Indian woman ; for while her lord merely cuts his hair on the crown and 
lets it hang as it will over cheek and neck, she may fashion hers into a 
large bow on the top of her head, plaiting her side locks, tying them 
together with strings of beads, and allowing them to hang down in a 
club-shaped form to the shoulder. Fashions somewhat differ, but there 
is a general similarity of mode to which the above description will 
apply. The women also tattoo their faces, and in this line each tribe 
has its own ideas of beauty, many of the customs reminding one of the 
abominations practiced upon the human face by the most degraded of 
the southern tribes in all parts of the world — in Africa as well as South 
America. In Greenland the women take a fine needle, the thread beinor 
smeared with lamp-black, and stitch their faces with beautiful lines ; 
while west of the Mackenzie River is a tribe whose men cut a hole in 
each corner of the mouth, which they fill with fancy pieces of bone, 
stone or metal, sometimes fashioning a combination ornament consisting 
of a small green pebble neatly set in wood or bone. 

THE ESQUIMAUX’ PRIDE. 

The Esquimau draws his life from the sea, and is, par excellence^ 
the marine hunter and fisherman of the world. He therefore devotes 
much of his attention to his boats. These are of two kinds, the kayak, 
or men s boat, and the umiak, or women’s boat. The former is sixteen 
feet long, the frame being covered with seal or walrus skin, except a 
hole in the center, and the entire boat fashioned very much like a 
modern “ shell. The whole idea is to provide an entire shelter for the 
seal hunter, with the exception of the face, and protect him against 



THE ESQUIMAUX’ PRIDE. 


355 


the water. The frame of the kayak is built of wood, whalebone or 
other bone, is Hat above and convex in the bottom. No Indian has ever 
constructed a similar boat, which is roofed, and calculated to ride a 
stormy sea. In short, being protected himself from the water, the boat¬ 
man is fearless as to personal safety, and if he is capsized, rights him¬ 
self with his paddle, and proceeds on his way to give battle to the polar 
bear or the walrus. 

The umiak is larger and much broader, being regular in shape and 
built to accommodate ten or twenty persons. It is often furnished with 
a sail formed of the intestine of the walrus. This is the family boat, 
or it may be the common property of two families who live in the same 
house ; in it are therefore sometimes loaded the tent and lamps, pots 
and wooden dishes, and one or two sledges with dogs attached. The 
umiak is so constructed that it floats only a few inches deep, and can be 
used either as a boat or a sledge. When launched upon the water it is 
usually propelled by the women, there being benches provided for those 
who row or paddle. 

The pride of the Esquimau is in his kayak, his weapons and his 
sledge. Now as to his weapons. A bladder filled with air is often 
attached to the harpoon, so that if struck the animal will be retarded in 
his motions ; or should the hunter miss his aim his weapon will not be 
lost. When the seal or walrus is struck the Esquimau has so contrived 
it that the head of the harpoon is bent out of the shaft, and only the 
head, with the line and bladder, remains attached to the animal. With¬ 
out this precaution the animal in its struggles would be likely to break 
the shaft or make the barbs slip out of the body. The harpoons and 
lances used in killing whales or seals have long shafts of wood or of the 
narwhal’s tooth, the points of these weapons being made of horns and 
bones of the deer; or of iron, if the hunter is lucky enough to fish out 
a piece from a wreck or obtain it by barter. Among the Esquimaux of 
the Mackenzie River and Alaska region native copper is used, which they 
also manufacture into ice chisels. The point is so constructed in these 
spears, also, that it is disengaged from the shaft when the animal is struck, 
and the latter becomes a floating buoy attached to the head by a string. 

The native bow is a most powerful weapon, and, propelled by the 
strong arm of the Esquimaux, will bring down the great musk ox or 
break the leg of a reindeer. The sinews of the ox or deer will furnish 
the strino-s to other bows, or be rolled into cords with which to make 

, f, 

nets or snares. The weapon itself is formed of three pieces of spruce 
fir carefully split with the grain, the two end pieces having a curve in 
the opposite direction to that of the central one. Along the back fifteen 
or twenty nicely twisted sinews are firmly bound. 


356 


HUNTING AND FISHING. 


EASY-RUNNING SLEDGES. 

The sledge of the Esquimaux is made of drift-wood or bone firmly 
joined with thongs. The bones of the whale are fitted together with 
neatness and then sewed together by the women, to make the body of 
the sledge, or a number of salmon are packed together in the form of a 
cylinder about seven feet long, encased in skins taken from canoes and 
well corded. Two of these cylinders are pressed into the shape of run¬ 
ners, and, having been left to freeze, are secured by cross bars made 
of the le^s of the deer or musk ox. The bottom of the runner is then 
covered with a mixture of moss, earth and water, upon which is depos¬ 
ited about half an inch of water, which congeals in the act of applica¬ 
tion. These sleds travel more lightly than those shod with iron, but as 
they cease to be of service when the temperature rises above the freez¬ 
ing point, they are taken to pieces, and the fish being eaten, the skins 
are converted into bags and the bones given to the dogs.” This prac¬ 
tice of coating the runners of the sledges with ice is also common in 
Siberia, and so anxious are the Esquimaux that the surface shall be quite 
smooth that in cold winter nights, after the water has been applied, the 
native will use his naked hand to polish it, viewing the result of his 
work with as much pride as the greasy apple-vender when he looks upon 
the shiny cheeks of his fruit. 

HUNTING AND FISHING. 

The dwelling of the Pi^squimaux consists of the summer tents and 
winter huts. In the months of June, July, August and part of Septem¬ 
ber they use their tents, generally adapted for less and rarely more than 
twenty persons. They are peculiar in shape, being formed of from ten 
to fourteen poles, with one end raised high and leaning on the frame 
which forms the entrance, the whole covered over with a double layer of 
reindeer skins. During the summer the Esquimaux are generally on 
the move, carrying all their goods with them in the family boat, hunt¬ 
ing and fishing as they go. They choose their routes, however, with 
reference to their objects — whether they wish to hunt reindeer, seals or 
whales, or to fish or trade. One of the most exciting sports in which the 
company (or band of five or six families) engage, is hunting the deer, 
which migrate to the S'juth to escape the blasts of winter. 

The plan usually is, as the great herds of deer approach, to drive as 
many as possible upon a narrow neck of land between two bodies of 
water. Upon the land they are met by huntsmen with their powerful 
bows and arrows, who drive them into the water where they are received 



HUNTING AND FISHING. 


357 


upon the sharp points of the spears wielded by the Esquimaux in their 
kayaks. If more deer are killed than can be consumed, part of the meat 
is dried and the other portion is left in clefts of rocks out of the reach 
of wild animals. Should it become tainted before cold weather comes 
on, it is all the better to the Esquimaux’s taste, who eat it raw or after 
it has been a little cooked. Another delicacy which they greatly enjoy 
at this season of the year is the half digested lichens, or moss, which 
they find in the bodies of the dead deer. They also drink the warm 
blood, and eat the entrails when they have become crisped by the frost, 
h locks of geese, salmon, trout and other fish, and berries of half a dozen 
varieties, are enjoyed during this feasting season. The killing of whales, 
on the coast, in August and September, must also be undertaken semi- 
periodically to furnish oil for their lamps and winter feasts. 

I aking their dogs with them, having built a snow hut at a conve¬ 
nient distance, the hunters start out toward the sea in quest of seals or 
walruses. Their useful brute assistants guide them to the breathing holes 
of their victims. Having erected a wall of ice to protect himself from 
bitter winds, for the winter is yet scarcely passed, the hunter with spear 
uplifted waits patiently for tlie first rise of the air bubble which tells him 
that the wary seal is coming to the surface. No sooner is its smooth 
head above water than the weapon Hies to a vital spot, the hunter throws 
a loop of his harpoon line around his body and braces his feet against 
a notch which has been cut in the ice for that purpose. If all this is 
done in proper time, well and good; but if his antagonist happens to be 
a great walrus, or even a great seal, and he has not planted his feet so 
that the strain will come upon his body longitudinally he may be dragged 
into the air-hole and drowned before assistance can arrive, or be thrown 
across it and have his back broken. .Such accidents are not uncommon. 

The sport of seal hunting is usually attended with little danger. 
When the sleek animals mount the cakes of ice to bask in the spring sun, 
they allow the Esquimau to approach them with his awkward, sprawl¬ 
ing motions which they take to be their own. 

ESQUIMAUX AS TRAVELERS. 

These summer expeditions, however, are not undertaken solely for 
the purpose of hunting and fishing. The Esquimaux not only take long 
journeys to barter with other tribes, but to points along the coast where 
Asiatic merchants have established a trade with them. The greatest 
territory for this species of barter is Alaska, or rather its coast opposite 
to Asia, such as Kotzebue Sound, Point Barrow and Cape Prince of 
Wales. To such points as these come from the Asiatic Hyperboreans 


358 


WINTER HUTS 


and merchants iron and copper kettles, women’s knives, double-edged 
knives, dolphin skins, tobacco, arrow heads, guns and ammunition, 
plumbago, feathers for arrows and head-dresses ; from the East come 
sledges and boats laden with whale and seal oil, whalebone, walrus tusks, 
thongs of walrus hide. The Asiatic Tchuktchis, or Esquimaux, find 
this trade so important that a settlement of 200 people has been formed 
on a rocky island in Behring’s Strait for carrying on the traffic. Upon 
other adjacent islands, traders have established themselves and have 
been entrusted by these commercial Hyperboreans with furthering their 
interests in exchanging tobacco, clothes and other articles, for furs, 
fossil ivory, etc., collected on the banks of Alaskan rivers. The natives 



STARTING ON A JOURNEY. 

seem to be pleasure-seekers in their travels, for as they move along from 
settlement to settlement, several of which are permanent, stops are con¬ 
tinually being made, that the parties may combine in a dance or other¬ 
wise enjoy themselves. It is not surprising, then, with their passion for 
barter and their love of travel, that Russian knives should be passed 
from hut to hut until they are found nearly as far east as Hudson’s Bay. 

WINTER HUTS. 

Many islands, capes and sounds along the shores of the ocean are 
therefore almost deserted during the summer months, but the huts are 
reoccupied in the winter. The winter huts are varied in structure, 














































WINTER HUTS. 


359 


Generally they are built of stones and turf, the spars and pillars which 
support the middle of the roof being of wood. Only the Esquimaux of 
the middle regions have vaults of snow for their habitations; whilst the 
western Esquimaux build their houses chiefly of planks, merely covered 
on the outside with turf. Some of the very far northern Esquimaux 
are obliged to use bones or stones instead of wood. 

1 he passage leading into the houses is long and very narrow, con¬ 
sisting of two inclined planes pitched toward the middle, so that in 
entering you first go down, then up, which is a double protection against 
cold draughts. The interior consists of a single apartment, and the 
sleeping or resting ledge, at the side, is divided into separate portions 
for the families who occupy the house. Each of these stalls is separ¬ 
ated from the other by a low screen, its lamp standing on the floor in 
front of it. In Greenland these compartments are sometimes divided 
by skins attached to the posts that support the roof, and each room has 
a window of dried, transparent seal skin. 

The snow huts, being circular in form, are, of course, arranged differ¬ 
ently. This is also true of the western Esquimaux, who have a cook¬ 
ing place in the center of the floor; while in the hut of wood the passage 
leading to it has generally a small side room, with a cooking place, and 
also provision or store houses. More than three or four families seldom 
occupy one dwelling. In South Greenland, however, houses have been 
discovered over sixty feet in length, with accommodation for ten families. 

FEASTS AND PASTIMES. 

In the larger settlements, especially among the western Esquimaux 
the community often unite to build a public hall, the floor and inside, 
walls being formed of dressed logs. The building, called a Kashim, is 
larger than a dwelling house and is used for a variety of purposes. Here 
the men feast and both sexes dance. The able-bodied males of some 
of the tribes retire to the Kashim at sunset and occupy it as a sleeping- 
apartment, leaving the old men and children with the Shaman (native 
magician or priest) to sleep in the common huts. The Shaman appears 
early in the morning and performs his charms, which shall protect the 
Esquimaux huntsmen and bring them good luck. At the close of the 
hunting season a grand feast is held, to which the successful hunters 
liberally contribute. Their great deeds are there lauded, and they 
appear as heroes indeed. The women are not admitted to these festivi¬ 
ties until they have been initiated with certain formalities. The Kashim 
is not in common use, either, among the Labrador or Greenland Esqui¬ 
maux, but the latter know of it by tradition and both they and the 


36 o 


FEASTS AND PASTIMES. 


Labrador natives have words for it in their own languages. 


It is called 



a place of assembly for council, and points to the time when the 
Esquimaux were a people with quite complex rules of society. 

When the Esquimaux house is tightly closed for the winter with a 
slab of ice, and the lamps, fed with whale oil and trimmed with wicks of 
moss, commence to add their sickening fumes to the emanations from 
the bodies of a score of people, naked to the waist, and to the odors of 
rotting skins and putrefying fish, it ceases to be a wonder that the infant 

grows old very rap¬ 
idly. During their 
Ion or confinement 
what time is not 
passed i n eating 
and sleeping is 
mostly occupied by 
the women in mak- 
ing garments, and 
by the men in man- 
u facturing fish¬ 
hooks, spear-heads, 
knife-handles and 
in makinof orna- 
ments for their ca¬ 
noes. They are 
very ingenious in 
making the appa¬ 
ratus for certain 
games with which 
they pass their 
time and their 
models of boats, 
sledges, deer, men, 

A GREENLAND HOUSE-WIFE. women and chil¬ 


dren carved from ivory and walrus tusks are surprisingly accurate 
The models are cut by continually chopping with a knife, one end 
of the ivory resting on a soft stone ; after which the figure is pol¬ 
ished by being rubbed with a gritty substance, a constant flow of saliva 
keeping the ivory wet. Human figures thus carved show an intimate 
knowledge of anatomy. The natives on the coasts of Labrador are said 
to evince the greatest talent in this accomplishment. There is no evh 
dence to prove that they worship these figures, since they barter them 
as freely as their fish and oil. 



THEIR CHRISTIANITY. 


361 


This practice seems to have originated in the ancient cus¬ 
tom, when the tribes were continually at war with the Indians and 
with each other, of sending out artificial animals for the purpose 
of destroying their enemies. In their old tales we meet with 
bears and reindeers of this description. Common also was the 
belief in the “ tupilak,” composed of various parts of different 
animals, such as the teeth of the bear and the tusks of the walrus, 
and which, if smuggled into an enemy’s country, were supposed to be 
particularly dangerous. Even to this day, upon the occurrence of any 
calamity, the afflicted people are ready to accuse another tribe with hav¬ 
ing caused the trouble through their Shaman, and retaliation is made by 
slaying one or more of the enemy. When the desire for barter or travel 
overcomes the passion for blood, the matter is compromised by the 
people who have killed the most men paying blood-money for the sur¬ 
plus. 

THEIR CHRISTIANITY. 

Within the past century Christianity has made decided progress 
among the Esquimaux, especially among those of Greenland ; but Sha¬ 
manism, the heathen superstitions which are scattered from Lapland to 
Behring’s Strait and personified in the Shaman, is still alive in their 
midst. Even those who have become Christians have engrafted the 
new upon the old. 

The ancient belief was that there were two great spirits and many 
lesser ones. The Supreme Ruler was termed Tornarsuk. Their heaven 
was in the under world, to which access was obtained by various en¬ 
trances from the sea and through mountain clefts. The abode beneath 
the land was heaven, because it was conceived as a warm place, rich in 
food. Those who went to the upper world would suffer from cold and 
famine. They were called ball-players, on account of their sport with 
a walrus-head wich gave rise to the aurora borealis. Tornarsuk dwelt, 
of course, in the warm heaven beneath. Some of the natives represented 
him as the size of a finger, others as a bear; but as a general rule, they 
attempted to give him no description. 

Another great spirit, though a minor one, was an old woman who 
sat in her dwelling in front of her lamp, beneath which was placed a 
vessel receiving the oil that kept flowing down from the lamp. Erom 
this vessel, or the dark interior of her house, she sent out all the food 
animals; at certain times she withheld the supply, causing want and 
famine. It was the task of the priest to induce her to again send out 
the supply. His journey was across horrid abysses, in which a gigantic 


362 


THEIR CHRISTIANITY. 


wheel was revolving as slippery as ice ; having safely passed a boiling 
kettle with seals in it, he arrived at the house, in front of which were 
terrible watch-dogs ; within the very passage of the house, he had 
still to cross an abyss over a bridge as narrow as a knife edge. 

The Angakok, or priest, or Shaman, had his familiar spirit which 
he could 'employ, except upon very special occasions. This was sup¬ 
plied him by the Supreme Being. His education commenced with 
childhood, and before his Tornak, or spirit, was given to him, he had to 
repair to a certain deep cave and rub two stones together until he 
heard the voice of his Deity arising from the depths of the earth , or 
to allow vermin to suck his blood until he or she (for women were 
admitted to the priesthood) became unconscious. 

The Angakok had other assistants to lighten his duties, called 
Innuae, those of a marine nature who fed on fox-tails, the inhabitants of 
rocky shores who carried off the natives, pigmies and giants, with scores 
of dogs, weather spirits and those who controlled the diet ; these, with 
hundred of others, which the Angakok called to his aid in expelling 
witches, curing diseases, bringing luck to the hunter, protecting the 
boatman from harm, etc., etc. 

When the priest’s assistance was required, the company assembled 
in a dark house, he was tied with his hands behind his back and his 
head between his legs, being then placed on the floor beside a drum 
and a suspended skin. The auditors then sung a song, after which the 
Angakok invoked his spirit, rattling the skin and playing upon the 
drum at the same time, although his hands were tied. The arrival of 
the spirit was said to be accompanied by a peculiar sound and light. 
Then questions were propounded by the Shaman, the answers seeming 
to proceed from without. If the priest desired to make a flight, his 
own spirit and that of his guardian were believed to shoot through the 
roof of the house. After a spell of unconsciousness the Shaman nar¬ 
rated his communications, which might be either in the way of infor¬ 
mation or advice, and showed that he had been entirely released from 
his bonds. During the following day no work was allowed to go on in 
the house. 

This art was principally exercised in discovering the causes of 
accidental disasters; in ascertaining the whereabouts of missing persons; 
in giving counsel as to rules of abstinence, travel, hunting, etc.; in pro¬ 
curing favorable weather and in curing sickness. The education of 
children was managed without any corporal punishment, but to threaten 
them with the vengeance of evil spirits was enough to keep them in 
check. 


SOCIAL and hunting regulations. 


363 


The milder features of the old belief are still in existence even 
among those Esquimaux who have embraced Christianity. “ Through 
their tales,” says one, “they still preserve a knowledge of their ancient 
religious opinions, combined somewhat systematically with the Christian 
faith. Tornarsuk, in being converted into the devil by the first mis¬ 
sionaries, was only degraded, getting, on the other hand, his real exist¬ 
ence confirmed forever. In consequence of this acknowledgment, in 
part, of Tornarsuk, the whole company of Innuae, or spirits, were also 
considered as still existinof. The Christian heaven coming into collis- 
ion with the upper world of their ancestors, the natives Very ingen¬ 
iously placed it above the latter, or, more strictly, beyond the blue sky. 
By making Tornarsuk the principle of evil, a total revolution was 
caused with regard to the general notions of good and evil ; but in the 
same way as the ancient belief in the world of spirits has been kept up, 
many of the Esquimaux also maintain their old faith respecting the aid 
to be got from it and have habitual recourse to it. The kayakers in 
their hazardous occupation still believe themselves taken care of by 
their invisible spirits.” The Greenland and the Labrador Esquimaux 
have the Gospels ; many of the old tribes are still adherents to the old 
faith, a few general features of which have been given above. 

SOCIAL AND HUNTING REGULATIONS. 

The Esquimaux when untouched by Danish or other foreign in¬ 
fluence, seem to have no ideas regarding courts of justice and although 
custom has apparently established certain rules of conduct and regula¬ 
tions of society, no laws have originated in their midst; that is, their 
tales and traditions, which extend back over a thousand years, show no 
such evidences, neither does their present life reveal anything of the 
kind. There are no Esquimaux chiefs, although trading companies 
often select some native who is recognized as a leader, on account of his 
wealth and superior management, to direct the hunting operations of the 
tribe and act as an agent. The constitution of society is patriarchial. 
Except in Greenland it is not customary for more than one family to 
occupy the same house, although the head of a family has often to pro¬ 
vide for a large collection of widows, and orphans of deceased relatives. 
When his vigor fails him and he is no longer a successful hunter, he is 
placed with the women in the social scale and must row with them in the 
family boat. Polygamy and the exchange of wives is approved of, 
under certain conditions. In cases of divorce it is customary for the son 
to follow the mother. When a man dies, the oldest son inherits the 


364 


SOCIAL AND HUNTING REGULATIONS. 


boat and tent and is considered the family provider. If no grown up 
son exists the nearest relative takes his place and adopts the children of 
the deceased. ^ 

If anyone picks up pieces of driftwood, or other goods lost at sea, 
he has only to carry them up to high-water mark and put stones upon 
them, in order to make them his property; the right to a seal is Lost 
when the hunting bladder becomes detached; if two hunters should, at 
the same time, hit a reindeer it belono-s to the one whose bullet or arrow 

O 

reaches nearest the heart, the owner, however, giving the unlucky hunts- 



LABRADOR ESQUIMAUX. 


man a part of the flesh ; in South Greenland, where bears are rarely 
seen, it is said that if a bear is killed it beloncrs to whoever first discov- 
ered it. 

Iixcept in the introduction of firearms and such articles as bread, 
coffee, sugar and tobacco, the hunting customs and food of the Esqui¬ 
maux are essentially the same as they were a thousand years ago. I'hev, 
however, show a great aptitude in learning, and where schools have been 
established, particularly in Greenland and Labrador, both old and young 
are anxious to attend. In these countries and on the coasts of Alaska, 
they also seem to be acquiring some notions regarding the benefits of 
regular laws ; so that before long Esquimaux states and kingdoms may 
arise in the frozen regions of North America. 












-J . .mU • J* 



-■' '--^ ^'l' f.'- ': > ■• >• * ^ "' ■“ "i ‘ _■• • *' '• •' "W 




T- ^:S *”■ '■■' 


„ v'.r- ■•- V'-.'. 


4 ? 



j Vi 





■^1 ^ <V. »■ ^'t -^/'% •■^ ■ • n- 

IP' S -> •,->' "■ ' ‘ . . \ *^, 

:r ■ ', .' '.O/ 

,V 5 ? ^ •'• ,.. ,,.... 


—. ■ ^ fc. Ik ^ " 

* * " . ' -• r - ■■*'•' ■“' 

■■'S| 





vjv f'y y., r,"- .. * ’*t,’' yi 





wtfVMSn: 1 ■,» ‘-..i . , . |. ' - -T-“ iiW%9aBIWi^wn," 

Im K I.. -:' ■ ■' ■ ■,.’’ ’y."’X . -..-^TW.-' 

v,- ' y '-■■•'a^■ 














jjnfirifuui 





xv\ «-« 







^^KriifT^IPA # 

HHHrVP 































NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS. 

ALASKA. 


NTIL recently the known regions of Alaska were confined 
to the coast, Fort Yukon, at the junction of the Yukon and 
Porcupine Rivers, being the most northerly station of the 
Hudson Bay Company and about the only interior settlement. 
But since the discovery, in 1897, of the rich gold deposits in 
the river gravel of the tributaries of the Yukon, a constant 
stream of gold-seekers has poured into Alaska and that part 
of Canada just across the border line. Sitka, the capital of the 
territory, is now one of the ports of entry of this rich land. 
Other important settlements are Dyea, Juneau City, Skaguay 
and St. Michael, all of which have sprung up as if by magic, and teem 
with the peculiarly cosmopolitan population which is so typical of mining 
towns. 

But gold dust is not the only thing of value in Alaska. The salmon 
found in the swift-flowing rivers and the seals annually killed on the 
Pribilof Islands are both items of no small value. 

All along the Pacific Coast there are glaciers filling the mountain 
gorges and terminating at the sea in magnificent masses of overhanging 
ice. One of the most remarkable of these grand exhibitions, of which 
nature is so wonderfully lavish, is the Muir’s Glacier, of Glacier Bay, a 
product of the Sitka Mountains. The swiftest and strongest pen falls 
far behind the reality in describing this frozen river, which stands as 
high as the loftiest cathedral and is two miles across and forty miles in 
length. 

REMNANTS OF THE GREAT TRIBES. 

The Athabascans compose a great family which has left its mark all 

over the western portions of British ^America, in the names of rivers and 

lakes, although its own name was given it by the Algonquins. The 

tribes of Alaska and British America are mild and industrious, greatly 

365 



























INDIAN CARDS. CARD CASE AND FISH HOOK, CHILCAT. ALASKA. 























































































































































































































































PRESENT WAYS OF LIVING. 


367 


resembling the Esquimaux in their mode of living, especially in the skill 
which they show in the construction and use of their fishing weapons 
and their taste in carving their ornaments. Unlike the Esquimaux, 
however, who are most unsatisfactory as historical subjects, they retain 
traditions of a journey from the icy regions and islands of the great 
northwest. Another peculiarity which distinguishes them both from 
Esquimaux and other Indians is a heavy beard ; otherwise they have 
square heads, short hands and feet, and greatly resemble a Siberian 
Tungoose. 

The tribes of this family, comprise the native interior population of 
Alaska; the Esquimaux occupying the northern coasts, and the Aleuts 
the Aleutian and adjacent islands. The latter have been classed both 
as Esquimaux and as Indians, but have been in contact with the Rus¬ 
sians for so many years as factors, or traders, that they have lost their 
national characteristics. In Alaska, the Athabascans are known as Ke- 
naians, a tribe by that name dwelling on the peninsula of Kenai, between 
Cook’s Inlet and Prince William Sound. These tribes are principally 
settled along the Yukon River, which, from the Rocky Mountains, cuts 
through the country for eighteen hundred miles and empties into Behr¬ 
ing Sea. 

PRESENT WAYS OF LIVING. 

The waters of all the rivers and streams abound in salmon. They 
are caught and dried by the Indians, some of whom use the typical 
birch-bark canoe in their journeys up and down. The work of catching 
salmon in Alaska rivers is not difficult; during the spawning season the 
streams are simply black with them, and it is no uncommon sight to see 
the banks piled up with dead fish to a height of three feet, the waves 
having cast ashore those which were weak and injured. 

Even now the Esquimaux and the Athabascans come into conflict, 
although their habits and beliefs are in many ways similar; but, as a 
rule, they are mostly employed, either individually or by traders, in col¬ 
lecting fossil ivory, hunting the fox, beaver, marten, otter, mink, lynx 
and wolverine; occasionally also fishing for the ulikon, which is 
abundant in some sections and celebrated as the fattest of known fish. 
Other ocean game engages their attention and taxes their ingenuity, 
which seems never to be found wanting. 

The most original of their hooks, and which was especially photo¬ 
graphed from the real thing for us, is so constructed that when the 
fish snaps at his bait he not only gets hooked, but finds his head 
wedged into a sort of framework, so that he can not break away in either 



TOTEM POLES AND INDIAN HUTS, FORT MANGELL, ALASKA 





























































































































































































































































































































































































































































THE Indian’s totem. 


369 


direction. The fish line, or rope, is made from a number of strands 
which consist of tough wood fibre, all twisted together in the neatest 
and most substantial fashion. The hook is fastened into a piece of wood 
which is grotesquely carved to represent a man playing a flute. 

The Alaska Indians are as fond of playing cards as many of their 
Siberian ancestors, but most of the American natives show Yankee skill 
in making their own implements of the game. They consist, in some 
cases, of little round pieces of hard wood, in shape like a finger, whicli 
are smoothed and polished and carved into faces and figures. The man¬ 
ner in which they play their games has not yet transpired, but the form 
of their cards would preclude much shuffling. 

The center of the fur-seal industry is 1,400 miles west of Alaska, on 
the Pribilof Islands, in the very heart of Behring Sea, but within 
American waters. It is monopolized by the Alaska Commercial Com¬ 
pany of San Francisco, and by Act of Congress seals may only be killed 
in June, July, September and October; firearms may not be used, or 
other means employed to drive the seals away; neither female seals, nor 
those less than one year old, can be killed. The act also limits the num¬ 
ber to be killed, in addition to those required for food by the natives, to 
100,000 annually. St. Paul and St. George are the two islands of the 
above group where the seals resort for breeding purposes, the shores 
being well drained and gently sloping, and peculiarly adapted to the 
habi!^ of the animals. The males usually arrive early in June, as many as 
possible selecting and defending a few square feet of land upon which 
to establish their families when the females appear, about a month later. 
Only to the brave, however, flock the fair, the result being that more 
males are bachelors than heads of families. The bachelor seals have 
their separate grounds, and they are the ones who are the victims of the 
hunter. Armed with thick clubs about five feet in length, and with 
knives, the natives drive the seals from their hauling grounds which 
the animals have themselves selected, to the killing grounds which 
the men have laid out. The next process is simply to knock them on 
the head, stab them to the heart, and skin them. The skins are then 
salted, piled in bins where they are allowed to pickle for several 
weeks, and then rolled into bundles of two skins each, with the hairy side 
out, ready for shipment. 

THE INDIAN’S “TOTEM.” 

Returning to the continent, it is found that among the Kenai 

Indians there are more distinct traces of Asiatic blood than among the 

Aleuts. They have their Shaman as do the Siberian tribes, and uphold 
24 


370 


THE FLATHEADS. 


a species of caste. After burning the dead, the ashes are generally 
placed in a leather bag, which is suspended to a painted pole; some oi 
the tribes, however, put the corpse on a staging, or even bury it decently 
and erect a wooden tomb over it. Marriage is not allowed between 
members of the same clan or family, the children belonging to the 
mother’s clan. Trousers and shoes are fastened to a kind c^f leather 
tunic ; which latter is worn of greater length by the women, rounded in 
front and trimmed with shells. The men paint their faces and wear 
shells in the nose, while the women tattoo lines on the chin. Personal 
beauty is said to favor the men, who, however, are in the minority. 
When girls arrive at a marriageable age they are separated from the 
rest for one year, and wear a peculiar bonnet with fringe over the face. 
The winter houses of some of the tribes are underground, as are the 
Esquimaux, and they are all given as much to barter as the Arctic race. 
Their money is either shells or beads. 

The Alaskans are divided into many tribes, and each tribe has its 
peculiar totem, or symbol, as was the case with the Iroquois of New 
York, or the Six Nations; and the totem is still an institution with many 
of the tribes of the United States. There are Beaver, Crow, Rat, 
Turtle and all other kinds of Indians among the Alaskans, and each 
tribe has in front of its village a totem pole, on which is carved the 
figure or combination of figures which constitutes its coat-of-arms. These 
may even be seen in fascinating variety along the coast in the neighbor¬ 
hood of Sitka. 

The totem originates in the wide-spread Indian tradition that the 
red man’s creation results from the union of a spirit with some of the 
lower animals, and the bird, beast or fish which he fixes upon as one of 
his parents becomes his totem. There are tribal totems and family 
totems. As to the latter, the skin of the totem is “ carefully stuffed, 
bedecked with ornaments and feathers, is tied to a staff and carried 
about in the hand on grand full-dress occasions. In good weather it is 
stuck up in front of the door of the lodge, and when the head of the 
family dies it is suspended to the top of a strong, high pole, which is 
firmly planted beside his grave. It is the family crest, the title of honor, 
the symbol of its ancestry and descent, and whatever may be the name of 
the individual of that family, his signature is a rude representation of 
the creature to which he believes he owes his origin.” The above 
applies more particularly to the tribes of the Western plains. 

THE FLATHEADS. 

Upon their reservation in Washington Territory is a small band 



INDIAN GRAVE NEAR FORT MANGELL. ALASKA. 










































































































































































































































































































































































































372 


THE APACHES. 


of Chinooks, a tribe of Indians who, at one time, lived on the coasts of 
Oregon and Washington and the banks of the Columbia River. They 
would be unworthy of mention were it not that they still conform to a 
custom which was in voo'ue with the ancient tribes of Mexico, Central 

o 

America and Peru, and with the mound-builders whose skulls have been 
excavated in the valleys of the Mississippi and Ohio. Either by bind¬ 
ing a piece of board or tightly braided grass upon their infants’ heads, 
and suspending them so that the feet are the highest portions of their 
bodies, the Chinooks manage to flatten the soft, little craniums out of 
all natural shape. These Indians are small and unprepossessing, are 
filthy in their habits, but are shrewd and intelligent, ingenious in the 
construction of their household utensils and fishing weapons, as well as 
being of quite an artistic turn of mind. The Indians known as Plat- 
heads are not flatheads, in fact, they having never adopted the cus¬ 
tom of thus disfiguring themselves. They are located on a reservation 
in Western Montana, and are a remarkable instance of instinctive 
elevation. When they were half starved and naked, they voluntarily 
sent for a missionary and invited others to settle among them who could 
improve their condition. Willing to work, they made rapid progress in 
agriculture and industrial pursuits, obtained horses and cattle and, what 
was better, schools and churches. The Flatheads are naturally peace¬ 
able, but they have fought bravely against the Sioux when attacked. 
They belong to the Selish family. 

A few hundred of the Athabascans live on the banks of the Colum¬ 
bia River, Oregon, and they and other small tribes, although they do 
not attempt to fix the time, have traditions, which are borne out by 
geological evidences, that several of the peaks of the Cascade Moun¬ 
tains were active volcanoes. The Nez Perces, the Wallavvallas, and 
other minor tribes occupy reservations or native grounds in Idaho and 
Oregon, on the Columbia or Snake River. 

THE APACHES. 

To set a fierce Apache against one of these fishing, hunting and 
trading Indians is a wonderful contrast, and remarkable when it is con¬ 
sidered that they are of the same stock. Only a few hundred of the 
15,000 or 20,000 who have fortified themselves in the Sierra Nevada 
and Rocky Mountains, along the rivers of the United States and Mex¬ 
ico, periodically issuing forth to harass settlers and give the national 
troops a brisk campaign, have been brought under government control. 
For fifty years previous to the war one of their wonderful chiefs brought 
imposing forces into the field, but with his death the tribe has scattered, 



FRONT VIEW OF MUIR GLACIER, GLACIER BAY, ALASKA. 
























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































374 


THE NAVAJOS. 


although the fragments are still troublesome enough. The Apaches 
fight upon the fly, being mounted upon small, wiry ponies, which are 
guided by a simple cord passed under the jaws. Their principal weapon 
is a very long, iron-pointed arrow, which they shoot with the most 
unerring precision. The chief, or captain of a band, in addition to the 
breech-cloth, or blanket, wears a buckskin helmet, ornamented with a 
feather. The common warrior goes dashing at his enemy bareheaded, 
and if he kills him disdains to take his scalp. Both sexes ornament 
themselves with pearl shells or rough carvings of wood, and wear high 
buckskin moccasins. Their feet being thus confined are so small that 
an Apache’s trail is easily recognized. 

When in their mountain retreats the Apaches live in lodges built 
of light boughs and twigs, resting from their labors of the field and 
allowing the women to do all the work of collecting fuel, besides per- 
fomiinor the resfular duties of the household. Their sonor.s are not 
weirdly sweet, and their card-playing, of which they are very fond, is 
probably not according to Hoyle; but their smoking is sedate and 
quite proper. The women as they move about, perhaps carrying infants 
in osier baskets at their backs, are seen to wear short petticoats and no 
ornaments. The African, the Polynesian, the Australian and the 
Esquimau, however much they may abuse their wives, generally allow 
them the feminine luxury of adorning their persons, but the Indian 
even cuts off this enjoyment. When the Apache travels he loads his 
wife with provisions, upon a horse, fastening the basket cradle of his 
papoose to the saddle. 

Should the warriors not return from battle the women cut off their 
lonor loose hair as a siQ-n of mournino-. 

Montezuma seems to be an Apache deity, although the savage pro¬ 
fesses a belief in a Supreme Being. White birds and the bear are 
sacred to them, and the hog they consider unclean. 

The Lipans were formerly the most powerful of the tribes in the 
present state of Texas, with the possible exception of the Comanches. 
They have figured prominently in border troubles, being generally 
friendly to the Texans. Although both Texas and the General Govern¬ 
ment attempted to fix them upon reservations, they were too restless to 
settle down. Now they were in Texas, now in New Mexico and at last 
accounts they were without the jurisdiction of the United States. 

THE NAVAJOS. 

The Navajos are as bitter toward the Mexicans as all the Apache 
tribes, but some of their bands have always been friendly to the United 


THE ALGONQUINS. 


375 


States. They occupy a tract of country between the San Juan and 
Little Colorado Riv^ers, in Northeastern Arizona, the government reser¬ 
vation of 6,000 square miles, lying in part within the boundaries of New 
Mexico. Even those who are not under guardianship, cultivate the soil 
of the table-lands, raise live-stock and make beautiful woolen blankets. 
1 his manufacture is so highly prized that a blanket will bring as high as 
$150. From a very early day the Navajos have possessed sheep, cattle, 
goats and horses, and were spinners of cotton and wool. They weave 
their own cloth, choosing to attire themselves in red and other bright 
colors. Bows, lances and rawhide shields are the weapons of the Navajo 
when he goes upon the war-path, his head dress being the same as that 
of the Apache. 

THE ALGONQUINS. 

Hundreds of nomadic tribes belonging to the Algonquin family 
scoured the country now included in the British possessions east of the 
territory of the Athabascans, up and down the St. Lawrence and Ottawa 
Rivers and around the shores of the Great Lakes. The Algonquin 
tribe, which gives the name to the family, is supposed to have been par¬ 
ticularly partial to the region adjacent to the Ottawa River, and there is 
now a remnant of them at the Lake of the Two Mountains. 

The chief band of the Algonquin tribe was called Kichisipirini 
“ men of the great river.” The Iroquois Indians early came in conflir 
with this great family, and were driven south of Lake Ontario where they 
formed the confederation of the Six Nations. 

As the Chippewas, Menomonees and Pottawattamies, the family 
appeared on the shores of Lake Michigan and paddled their canoes in 
the lakes, rivers and streams of the Northwest. The Chippewas are 
now living on reservations in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Kansas 
and Indian Territory, numbering, with the Ottawas, nearly 20,000. The 
Menomonees occupy a reservation in Northeastern Wisconsin. About 
1,000 of them remain. The Pottawattomies are in Indian Territory and 
Kansas, and number 1,700. There are less than 1,000 representatives 
of the Foxes, Sacs, Miamis and other tribes who formerly counted their 
thousands, and ranged over the garden States of the West as their hunt- 
ing grounds. With other wrecks of the Red Man’s race they have been 
gathered into the Indian Territory. 

THE CHIPPEWAS. 

The Chippewas, or Ojibways, comprised one of the great Algon¬ 
quin nations, driving the Sioux from the headwaters of the Mississippi 
and the Red River of the North, warring with the Sacs, the Foxes and 
Iroquois, firmly establishing themselves on the lands north of Lake Su- 



INDIAN PIONEERS. 


376 

perior, and then spreading southward over Northern Wisconsin and the 
northern peninsula of Michigan. Some of the tribes moved east to Lake 
Erie, where they joined the Miamis, others moving southwest and wrest¬ 
ing vast tracts of land from hostile bands along the Chippewa and Mis¬ 
sissippi rivers. Numbers of the Chippewas have not been gathered to 
any reservation, their principal country lying on the southern shores of 
Lake Superior and the western shores of Lake Huron. 

A historic spot is Madeline Island, a small tract of land opposite 
Bayfield, Northern Wisconsin; for here the great Chippewa chiefs signed 
away all their lands in Wisconsin and Michigan to the General Govern¬ 
ment. Upon it were also located the headquarters of the American Fur 
Company and the Jesuit missions, Father Marquette himself living there, 
for a time, to labor with the Chippewas. Only a few fisherman now 
remain upon the island, although on the opposite shores of the lake 
the natives still roam about, hunting and fishing, guiding sportsmen and 
the pleasure seekers, making canoes, mats, baskets and maple sugar. 

The ancient religion of the Chippewas, and which is still held by a 
few thousand of the children of the woods around Lake Superior, con¬ 
sists in a belief in the Manitous, or the Good and the Evil Spirits. They 
have a priesthood called the Medas, whoare the veritable sorcerers found 
among the Siberian tribes; for each of their priests has his manitou, or 
spirit, revealed to him in a dream. 

The Chippewas are tall and well-developed, and their power as 
forest fighters was celebrated all over the Northwest, their weapons 
being superior to those of most neighboring tribes. At a suprisingly 
early day they obtained firearms, and even their arrows and spears were 
pointed with good steel. The name Odjibewa, or Chippewa 
(although the accent really comes on the second syllable), signifies 
the dwellers in a contracted place.' Many of the descendants of the 
wild Odjibewas have settled in Northern Wisconsin and Michigan, 
being engaged principally in the lumber trade. 

The Menomonees, unlike most of the western tribes, increased in 
power from the middle of the eighteenth to the beginning of the nine¬ 
teenth century, and even as late as 1830 they held a large portion of 
Northeastern and Eastern Wisconsin. But little by little they ceded 
their lands to the United States, and in 1852 removed to their reservation 
on the upper Wolf River, in the northeastern part of that State. 

INDIAN PIONEERS. 

And where are the Pequots, the Narragansetts, the Powhatans, the 
Pampticoes, and other tribes of the New England States and the South, 


THE CHEYENNES. 


377 


who so warmly welcomed the white immigrants? There is a little 
settlement of Narragansetts near Charlestown, R. I., and the last heard 
of them they had not yet decided to become citizens. 

Wisconsin, however, has to tell another story. Early in the ‘‘20’s” 
remnants of Narragansetts, Pequots, Mohicans and other tribes of 
former power, who had emigrated from the land of the Oneidas, near 
Utica, N. Y., removed to Green Bay, and afterwards to the shores of 
Lake Winnebago, southwest of that locality. Here they formed the 
Brothertown colony, proceeded to clear land, and established churches 
and schools. Since then the inhabitants have generally kept pace with 
other portions of the county (Calumet) in material and mental improve¬ 
ment, having sent several representatives to the legislature, and developed 
educated and refined citizens. Others have become wealthy and, have 
sent their children to colleges and universities. With the Brothertown 
Indians also came the Stockbridges, a New York tribe, who had been 
granted a small tract of land by the Oneidas, but who sighed for inde¬ 
pendence. The story of their advancement and incorporation into the 
body politic of a great State is similar to that of their friends and 
co-workers. 

THE CHEYENNES. 

West of the Mississippi River were two great isolated tribes of the 
Algonquins—the Cheyennes and Blackfeet. The Cheyennes are 
divided between Indian Territory and Montana reservations, being, in 
both cases, intermixed with their auxiliary tribe, the Arapahoes. 

In personal appearance the Cheyennes meet all the romantic ideas 
recrardino* the noble red men, exceeding in stature all of the tribes of 
the plains except the Osages. The wars which they have waged with 
the Government are the most costly, both financially and in the loss of 
human life, which have been experienced of late years; the campaign 
of i 864-’65 is said to have cost the United States $40,000,000. The 
Cheyennes were first known as living on the Cheyenne River, a branch 
of the Red River of the North. They were driven away by the Sioux, 
and in the early part of the century were camping near the Black Hills, 
on the Cheyenne River. From the first the Cheyennes were great 
horsemen, and to-day they are noted dealers. Finally the tribe split, 
the northern portion joining their old enemies, the Sioux, and the south¬ 
ern the Arapahoes of Arkansas. 

The Blackfeet are scattered from Hudson’s Bay to the Missouri 
River. The Kena, or Blood Indians, are a northern branch of the 
same nation, the two separating on the Saskatchewan River, British 



THE ARAPAHOES. 


37S 

America, and the Satsika, or Blackfeet (as the Crows dubbed them), 
going south to the Missouri. Other difficulties in the northern body 
brought another split, the seceders following a chief named Piegan. 
And so it comes to pass that about half of those who remain of the 
original Blackfeet are in Montana. They number some y,ooo, of whom 
1,500 are on their Montana reservations, being divided into Blood and 
Piegan Indians and Blackfeet proper. 

THE ARAPAHOES. 

The Arapahoes have, for many years, resided near the headwaters of 
the Arkansas and Platte rivers. They are a member of the Blackfoot 
confederacy, but are going out with the buffalo. Some of them 
occupy reservation land adjoining the Cheyennes, in the Indian Territory. 
The Gros Ventres, said to be of the same stock as the Arapahoes, 
occupy, with a number of the latter, a portion of the Blackfeet reserva¬ 
tion in Montana. Their chiefs are chosen for their valor, and the 
women are the workers, building large and comfortable lodges capable 
of accommodating 100 persons. One part is assigned to their horses, 
dogs, cattle and chickens, and another is divided into sleeping and 
living apartments. 

OTHER NOTED WESTERN TRIBES. 

The vicissitudes of the Shawnees, a war-like Algonquin tribe, form 
the experience of the average Indian, and make one wonder that he is 
not more stolid and hopeless than he actually appears. They seem to 
have first appeared as a distinct tribe in Southern Wisconsin, going 
toward the east. Having infringed upon the territory of the Six Nations 
(over two centuries ago), they were driven south, some going into 
Florida. Fifty years afterward bands of them commenced to appear in 
Pennsylvania and New York, having returned to the north. They 
fought with the French, the English and the Spaniards, having now 
ranged as far west as Missouri. In the war of 1812 they endeavored to 
unite the tribes of the west against the Americans but were unsuccessful. 
It is possible that at the present day they could muster seven hundred 
individuals from the Indian Territory, but it is doubtful. 

The great and warlike tribe of the Illinois is now reduced to about one 
hundred souls, who occupy a few acres on their reservation in the Indian 
Territory. Two of their powerful chiefs, father and son, were called 
Chicago, the former visiting France in i 700, where he received much 
favorable notice. The French missionaries had converted them, and in 
their wars with the Iroquois, Sacs and Foxes, they rendered France 


THE PAWNEES. 


379 


valuable services, although they were driven from their villages and suf¬ 
fered terrible losses. Peoria and Kaskaskia, in Illinois, received their 
names on account of tribes who belonged to this family. 

1 he Poxes and Sacs, kindred tribes, first came into view in the 
vicinity of Detroit, but they were driven west by the Iroquois, warred 
against the Sioux and French, settled on the Fox River, Wisconsin, and 
at Prairie du Chien (the name of one of their chiefs), but finally, after 
having ceded immense tracts of land on the Missouri and Wisconsin 
rivers, located west of the Mississippi River. They hunted and fished, 
cultivated land, and were the bone and sinew of the Black Hawk War, 
which they waged against the government for the possession of Rock 
Island. The few hundred who did not choose to be removed from reser¬ 
vation to reservation bought a tract of land in Iowa, and became indus¬ 
trious farmers and farm laborers. 

THE PAWNEES. 

The Pawnees, a noted tribe in the annals of Nebraska, tought many 
a pitched battle with the Arapahoes, the Sacs, the Foxes and the Sioux. 
Finally they forgot their wild ways and located north of the Nebraska 
River and west of the Loup, and under the guardianship of the Govern¬ 
ment built houses and schools and cultivated farms ; but their old enemies, 
the Sioux, came down upon them, burning their villages and massacring 
their people. The Sioux, with devastating epidemics of small-pox, and 
cholera, almost swept the Pawnees out of existence. Until their crops 
were swept away by locusts, however, they continued to reside stub¬ 
bornly but peacefully upon their native soil. In 1874, a general council 
of the tribe determined upon removal to the Indian Territory and there 
2,000 of them now are, with manual-labor schools and day schools, culti¬ 
vating their lands and governing themselves. They are under the 
especial charge of the P^riends. 

THE DAKOTAS. 

The traditions of the Dakotas are more pregnant in thought to the 
student, who is forced to trace the progenitors of the American Indian to 
Asia, than those of any other of the Indian families. Their language^ 
also, is Mongolian in its structure. According to their traditions they 
were driven back from the Mississippi River by the Algonquins, after 
they had slowly advanced from the Pacific Coast and the Northwest. 
Only one tribe, the Winnebagook (Winnebagoes), pushed through the 
ranks of their enemies, settling on the shores of Lake Michigan, where 


380 


THE DAKOTAS. 



they were held in check. There, in the regions adjacent to Green Bay, 
they lorded it over many of the tribes with such a high hand that they 
were attacked and nearly exterminated by an allied Indian force. Yet 
they were still warlike and troublesome, and after they had ceded over 
two million and a half acres of their lands to the Government, they were 
removed west of the Mississippi, then hither and thither, to Dakota, 

Minnesota, Ne¬ 
braska — and 
where not? 


There,as in other 
States, they com¬ 
menced to culti¬ 
vate land, build 
cottages and 
schools, and 
dress and live 
like white men. 
It was formerly 
the practice of 
the agents to de¬ 
pose and appoint 
their chiefs at 
will; now they 
are elected. 
The Win neb a- 
goes left in Wis- 

t_> 

consin are self- 
supporting and 
peaceable. 

Other tribes 
of the Dakota 
f a m i 1 y h a v e 
given us the 


A SIOUX WARRIOR. 


followino- oreo- 
graphical names: 


Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Osage, Omaha and Sioux. There were also 
the Upsaroka.s, or Crows. A few of the family yet remain within 
the British possessions, but the majority of them are on reservations 
in the northeastern part of Indian Territory, in Eastern Nebraska, in 


Southern Dakota and Montana. 

























'rHE SIOUX. 



THE SIOUX. 

The Sioux are still the powerful tribe of the family, as they always 
have been, and were the arch enemies of the Algonquins, especially the 
Chippewas. The fortunes of war were various, the Sioux preferring to 
fight upon the plain and the Chippewas in the woods, but, as has been 
stated, the Sioux were, after a century or so of warfare, driven from the 
headwaters of the Mississippi to the south. By the early part of this 
century the bulk of the nation was upon the Missouri River, although 
native villa<^es were scattered from Northern Minnesota to the Black Hills. 
During the first part of our civil war the Sioux commenced to prepare 
for a general uprising, on account of dissatisfaction with the way they 
were being treated by the Government and its agents, and eventually 
the whole of Minnesota and the regions bordering on the Missouri, 
vvith the Western Plains, were the scenes of their massacres and hos¬ 
tilities. The discovery of gold in the Black Hills, and subsequent 
troubles with Sitting Bull, Red Cloud and Spotted Tail, on account of 
their reluctance to part with their grounds, are matters of recent record. 
Some of the most warlike bands fled to British territory, others agreed 
-o eo to their immense Dakota reservation. There ^0,000 of them are 
supposed to cover 34,000,000 acres of land. Churches and schools 
have been established among them, and the younger generation show 
iptitude and patience. The settled bands have their tribal form of 
government, and are raisers of live-stock, and agriculturists ; notwith¬ 
standing which, the wSioux may yet be called an uncertain quantity in 
che Indian problem. 

When first known, the Crows occupied territory in the basins of the 
Tellowstone and Big Horn Rivers, Southern Montana, and they now 
nold a reservation on the site of their old camping-grounds. Like the 
Northern Cheyennes and Sioux, with whom they often came in conflict, 
they were expert horsemen and brave warriors, although not great in 
numbers. In personal appearance they are tall and remarkable for the 
extraordinary length of their hair. They are so cleanly in their habits 
that a Crow lodge is easily recognizable, it being generally made of 
buffalo skins so dressed that they are almost white. 

THE SHOSHONES. 

This is both the name of a tribe and of a family. Various mem¬ 
bers of the family have roamed from Idaho to New Mexico. The 
tribes which are best known are the Comanches and the Utes, or Utahs. 
The Comanches call themselves “live people”; their modes of warfare 


382 


THE UTES. 


and the extent of territory they have covered in their wars with the 
Spaniards, with the Osages, Pawnees and other Western tribes, as 
well as with travelers crossing the plains, certainly entitle them to that 
appellation. Being almost constantly mounted, the Comanche has 
become somewhat heavy of foot, but, with the Apache, he is the ideal 
warrior on horseback. Only a few of the troublesome tribes have been 
collected upon reservation lands. 

THE UTES. 

The Utes roam over a great portion of the southwestern sections 
of the United States, hunting and raiding. In districts where game is 
plentiful they are, physically, noble looking, but are miserable in 
appearance and pitiful specimens of the race in other localities. Their 
arms vary with their territory, some using a primitive club, bow or lance, 
others an improved rifle. As a rule, in dressing the hair the men wear 
braided queues, and the women cut their hair short. It is said that 
their wives and children are often sold into slavery to neighboring 
tribes. The Utes have a small reservation in Southern Colorado, and 
the Shoshones proper have one in Wyoming, but the whole tribe and 
family of Utes and Shoshones seem to be irreclaimable. 

THE KIOWAS. 

The Kiowas are a branch of the same family, being wild, restless 
and troublesome; but they have been assigned lands in the south¬ 
western part of Indian Territory, which was leased from the Chicka- 
saws. They share their reservation lands with the Comanches and 
Apaches—that is, when they are not off on raids. The hair is worn the 
same as that of the Utes, except the men do theirs up in three or four 
long plaits, instead of one. The Kiowas long hunted on the Platte, 
had immense herds of horses, and were at constant war with the Paw¬ 
nees and Sioux, their weapons being the bow and arrow, lance and war 
club. They also carried shields. When they were not pasturing their 
herds on the grassy bottoms of the Red River, hunting the buffalo 
between the Canadian and Arkansas rivers, or fighting furiously with 
their powerful enemies of the plains, they were uneasily shifting their 
quarters from point to point, carrying their skin lodges as they went. 
They have given the Government untold trouble, having several times 
invaded Texas and murdered many settlers. Two of their chiefs are 
now under sentence of imprisonment for life, but it seems impossible to 
effectually quell them. 



THE PUEBLOS. 


383 


THE PUEBLOS. 

The villages of these semi-civilized Indians who form the native 
population of New Mexico, are called pueblos; hence the name which 
has become attached to the tribe. The Spaniards occupied the country 
during the latter part of the sixteenth century, established schools and 
churches among them and supplied them with cattle and sheep. They 
were citizens under the rule of Mexico, and the Supreme Court has 
decided that they are now citizens of the United States, although the 
State laws deprive them of their rights. They have never strenuously 
insisted upon their rights, however, and seem satisfied to be left in the 
enjoyment of their ancient village government, which consists of a gov¬ 
ernor and a court of three elders. The Pueblos are still semi-civilized 
and have shown no marked improvement within the past three hundred 
years. 

They raise grain, vegetables and cotton, and manufacture pottery, spin¬ 
ning and weaving with rude machines. “ Their houses are sometimes 
built of stone, laid in mortar made of mud, but more generally of sun-dried 
brick or adobe. These buildings are generally large, of several stories, 
and contain many families. In some of the pueblos the whole com¬ 
munity, amounting to from 300 to 700 souls, are domiciled in one of 
these huge structures. The houses are sometimes in the form of a hol¬ 
low square ; at other times they are on the brow of a high bluff or 
mountain terrace, difficult of approach. The first or lower story is 
invariably without openings, entrance to the house being effected by 
ladders. Each upper story recedes a few feet from that below it, leav¬ 
ing a terrace or walk around or along the whole extent of the structure, 
from which ladders lead to those above. The upper stories have doors 
and windows, but no stairways. In most instances a single family occu¬ 
pies one apartment, and as its number increases another apartment is 
added where there is sufficient space, or it is built above and reached by 
a ladder. This mode was practiced by these Indians three centuries ago. 
In every village there is at least one room large enough to contain sev¬ 
eral hundred persons, in which they hold their councils and have their 

dances.” 

THE HURON-IROQUOIS FAMILY. 

The Hurons occupied a tract of country about as large as Delaware, 
near Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, when the French first penetrated into 
their country. Within this space, however there were 30,000 Indians 
living in bark lodges, and separated into many villages. But the Iro- 


384 


THE SIX NATIONS. 


quois invaded their territory, killing a French missionary and his con¬ 
verts, destroying their largest towns and dispersing those of the tribes 
who did not join their confederation of the Six Nations. A number 
of the Hurons fled to several islands in Lake Huron, and, through the 
the assistance of the French, the remnants of the once powerful family 
were removed to the banks of the River St. Charles, a few miles from 
Quebec. There their descendants quietly reside, being faithful Catholics 
and numbering two or three hundred people. 

A few miles southwest of the Hurons proper were the Dinondadies, 
another tribe which belonged to the Huron-Iroquois famjly. They 
cultivated tobacco, and with such success that the French called them 
Tobacco Indians. They were scattered with the Hurons, wandering to 
Lake Superior, then to Detroit and finally to the headwaters of the 
Sandusky River, Ohio. In 1832 they sold their lands and, as the “ Wy- 
andots,” were removed by the Government to the junction of the Kansas 
and Missouri Rivers. The descendants of the larger band are still liv¬ 
ing in Kansas, their fathers having become citizens, founded a city, 
organized a county, and, in many cases, intermarried with white pioneers. 
A few are on reservation land in the Indian Territory, and in Canada, 
on the Detroit River. 

THE SIX NATIONS. 

At a very early day the Tuscaroras separated from the six nations 
of Iroquois, and penetrated into the Carolinas, where they made no end 
of trouble, but finally, in 1713, were completely routed and most of them 
rejoined their kindred in New York. Thus the confederation was again 
complete. Besides the Tuscaroras were the Onondagas, the Mohawks, 
the Oneidas, the Cayugas and the Senecas, the confederation being the 
most formidable and permanent which ever threatened the whites of the 
United States. The league was called “ Hodenosaunee,” or “ they form 
a cabin.” The Onondagas were at the head, their chief being presi¬ 
dent of the council of fourteen sachems ; and at Onondaga the council 
fire, or the fire of the cabin, was kept burning. Far to the east the 
Mohawks held “ the door.” This tribe called itself the She Bear, 
which the Algonquins translated into their, language as Mahaqua and 
the English into Mohawk. The Onondagas were “ men of the moun¬ 
tain,” the Oneidas “tribe of the granite rock,” and the Tuscaroras 
“shirt wearers.” Each tribe was divided into the Turtle, Bear and 
Wolf families, and occasionally the division went further. To further 
cement the union it was forbidden for one to marry within his own tribe. 

In the conflicts between the English and French, the Iroquois 


THE FIVE NATIONS. 


3S5 

usually sided with the former, as the French had generally been allies of 
the Algonquins, who were the inveterate foes of the Six Nations. Upon 
the outbreak of the Revolutionary War the confederacy was split asunder, 
a portion of them adhering to the English, the Oneidas and Tiiscaroras 
being generally friendly to the Americans. In 1777, therefore, the 
council hre at Onondaj^a was extimruished forever. Previous to the 
war of 1812, when the Iroquois tribes were again arrayed against each 
other, the Mohawks, and a portion of the Cayugas, went to Canada, and 
subsequently they were followed by other members of the Six Nations, 
lands being granted to them on Ouinte Bay, Grand River, the Thames, 
Sank St. Louis, St. Regis and Lake of the Two Mountains. In con¬ 
nection with the present condition of the Iroquois, a remarkable fact is 
noticed — viz. : that there has been little, if any, decrease in their num¬ 
bers since they were the most prosperous. Their 15,000 people are 
nearly divided between Canada and the New York reservations, with a 
band of over 1,000 Oneidas at Green Bay, Wis. The Six Nations ma)’ 
be called converts to Christianity. 

THE FIVE NATIONS. 

The Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws and Seminoles, all 
Southern tribes who previous to the war held slaves and were in arms 
against the United States Government, constitute now the P^ive Nations 
of the Indian Territory. They had previously developed quite a com¬ 
plete system of self-government, and generally retained their old con. 
stitutions when they were removed to the Indian Territory after the war. 

THE CHEROKEES. 

The Cherokees have their peculiarities of language and organiza¬ 
tion which entitle them to be considered a distinct family. They for¬ 
merly occupied portions of Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Georgia and Alabama in the valleys of the Allegheny Mountains, the 
Upper Tennessee and the headwaters of the Savannah and Flint 
Rive^rs. They consist of seven clans, and members of the same clan 
are forbidden to marry. They fought with the Plnglish against the 
French with such effect that Louisiana made great efforts to obtain 

their friendship. 

With the capture of slaves, in their wars, the Cherokees com¬ 
menced to give more attention to the cultivation of land and less to 
war. The nation divided, a portion crossing the Mississippi and the 
balance remaining on their own lands. They were aided by the United 

2.S 



CREEKS AND SEMINOLES. 


386 

States Government, which furnished them with agricultural implements 
and mills. As the white population clamored for their lands, however, 
they gradually ceded them to the Government until they were in pos- 
•session of but a mountainous tract of 8,000 square miles in the States 
of Georgia and North Carolina. Gradually they were crowded out of 
these States and removed to the Indian Territory. 

Different factions of the eastern and western divisions prevented a 
union of the nation until 1839, but by the commencement of the war 
it was very prosperous. Printing presses were at work, turning off 
newspapers and books both in English and Cherokee ; grain, cotton, 
salt, cattle and horses we're all elements of their wealth. At the break¬ 
ing out of the civil war the nation’s warriors, who numbered over 
15,000, divided their allegiance, and their territory was ravaged by both 
armies. The slaves of the Cherokees were, of course, emancipated, 
but they themselves gained in habits of industry. 

Their territory now comprises about 5,000,000 acres, two-thirds of 
which is unfit for cultivation. The chief of the nation is elected for 
four years. The country is divided into eight districts, and the citizens 
are governed by a National Committee and Council, elected for two 
years. The Cherokees lead the five nations in the cultivation of wheat, 
corn and oats. They have neat villages, schools, churches and public 
buildings, and are a noteworthy evidence of Indian civilization. 

CREEKS AND SEMJNOLES. 

The Creeks are allied to the Choctaws, Chickasaws and Seminoles, 
and occupied a territory which was bounded on the north by that of the 
Cherokees, but stretched south into Florida. Not being able to trace 
their origin beyond a certain point, they claim to have sprung from the 
earth and emigrated from the northwest. They settled principally along 
the streams of Georgia and Florida, where they were found by the 
English and called Creeks. 

Two bands of the Creeks who remained in Florida and intermarried 
with negroes and Spaniards form the Seminole Indians. The Creeks 
called them Seminoles, or Wanderers, and it was the latter’s refusal to 
be bound by a treaty made by the Creek nation with the United States 
which precipitated the war in Florida which was so disastrous both to 
them and to the United States. The Creeks were divided into a num¬ 
ber of distrinct tribes, including the Alabamas and Natchez, who figured 
for years in Southern troubles, but fifty years ago the Government 
succeeded in removing, all but a few hundred, to Arkansas. The civil 
war split them asunder as it did the Cherokees, and they suffered severely^ 


CHOCTAWS AND CHICKASAWS. 


387 

After the war both sections were removea to their reservation. Their 
form of government is not so republican as that of the Cherokees 
retaining more of the tribal features. 

Notwithstanding all efforts to consolidate them, the Seminoles have 
retained their individuality and form one of the most progressive of the 
nations. They have missions and district schools, are steady and 
industrious. 

CHOCTAWS AND CHICKASAWS. 

I he Choctaws and Chickasaws speak the same language and have 
a tradition that they came with the Creeks from west of the Mississippi. 
The Choctaws attained more to the dignity of a nation, for, with their 
allied tribes, they formerly occupied nearly all the coast territory from 
the Mississippi to the Atlantic. When the French first came among 
them they were in the habit of flattening the heads of their children 
with bags of sand, and therefore became known as Flatheads. They 
were allies of the French, and did splendid service for them against the 
Natchez, Chickasaws and other hostile tribes. The State of Georeia 

o 

offered them the rights of citizenship, but they preferred to cede their 
lands and move with the Chickasaws to Arkansas. 

They were already a nation, in fact, as in name, and are still governed 
by a written constitution, substantially adopted in 1838. They are 
governed by a chief elected for a term of four years, by a National 
Council and a regular judiciary. Trial by jury is also a feature of their 
government. Besides exhibiting other evidences of the white man’s 

o o 

civilization, the Choctaws comprise a distinguished member of the Five 
nations as being the principal lumbermen of the group. 

The Chickasaws at first formed a part of the Choctaw nation, but, 
subsequently organized a government of their own, consisting of a 
(rovernor. Senate and House of Representatives. The Chickasaw 
nation embraces a decided negro element; for instead of giving up a 
proportion of their lands to the Government, the proceeds of which were 
to go to their former slaves, the nation adopted them as members of the 
tribe. 

TRIBAL GOVERNMENT. 

In the tribal form of government few measures originate solely with 
the chief. He is to execute the decrees which are discussed and adopted 
in the council, and is the head warrior of the band. Not alone such 
momentous matters as peace or war, the removal of the camp, or the 
initiation of a large band of warriors, are eloquently considered in 
council, but orators are not found wanting to discuss in all their bearings 






















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































INDIAN RELIGION AND MEDICINE. 


3^9 

a proposed hunt, or a medicine dance. Every band is provided with a 
council lodge and all warriors are members of the council. The vote is 
taken by acclamation, and though eloquence and personal magnetism 
have a certain sway in the council chamber, the real power lies with the 
chiefs, sages and medicine men. The “dog-soldiers” of the Indians of 
the plains are the young, active warriors, who have no standing as wise 
men, but they elect their own leader and maintain a strong organization 
outside of the council. This is a special feature of Cheyenne govern¬ 
ment, although in some of the tribes, since the tendency has been toward 
a popular form, the dog-soldiers have become subordinate to the chief 
and form merely his body-guard in war. 

INDIAN RELIGION AND MEDICINE. 

I 

The Indian believes in the Good God and tne Bad God, and he 
speaks of the latter deity with the greatest disinclination. Gods and 
spirits of the plains, rivers and mountains also play a bold role in his 
faith. He does not apply morality to his religion, but whatever thwarts 
his aims he attributes to the Bad God. The Good God helps him to kill 
his enemy, steal the wife of a friend or raid a white settlement. No 
prayers are necessarily offered to the Good God. 

Death by strangulation bars the Indian out of the Happy Hunting 
Grounds, for his soul is supposed to escape through the mouth, which 
opens at the moment of dissolution. It was formerly a universal belief 
with the Indians of the plains that scalping an enemy annihilated his 
soul. This is now quite a general superstition; also one that each per¬ 
son killed by them, and not scalped, will be their servant in the next 
world. They have their good omens and their bad. One of their most 
common ways of preparing medicine, which they use as it turns out 
good or bad, is to take earth, sand, ashes of plants or bones, and, mixing 
them in a shallow dish, stir the ingredients. If by the combination of 
colors and figures the Indian is convinced that his Good God has charge 
of his affairs, he places the mixture in tiny deer skin bags and ties them in 
his hair, upon the tail of his war horse and around the necks of his 
women and children. Should the mixture prove to be bad medicine, 
or an indication that his Bad God has the upper hand, the stuff is taken 
outside the camp and secretly buried. The exact nature of this mixture 
is a close secret between the individual and his gods. He is forever 
making the medicine, and takes not the smallest step without^ consult¬ 
ing it. 

_ 

The Indians have different ways of propitiating the Evil One. 


390 


INDIAN RELIGION AND MEDICINE, 


When he brings them into great danger a common vow is to consecrate 
a pony to his service, should he allow them to escape. When this is 
done the animal is never again mounted, is treated with care and even 
tenderness. 

When the warrior dies the pony which is killed for him, and the 
weapons which are laid on his grave, will appear as phantoms and serve 
him in the Happy Hunting Grounds. If he falls in battle, cut or shot to 
pieces, his shade, in the next world, will appear mutilated and imperfect. 
In fact, in every particular, he commences his spirit life in the beyond 
under the conditions which govern his material life. If a body is pierced 
with arrows, the Indian, particularly the Sioux, believes that the soul will 
be always tormented with ghostly arrows. Should a warrior, or his 
enemy be killed in the dark, darkness will be his eternal portion. The 
fear of meetinor this fate has deterred more than one savag^e from 
murderous midnight attacks upon the wagon trains of the plains. 

There is Hardly a tribe which agrees with another as to the length 
of time which it required for a soul to pass from this earth to the Happy 
Hunting Grounds ; the ideas vary from one to two days, to as many 
months. If the period is long, food and water are brought to the grave, 
generally by the female mourners. The entire journey is conceived to 
lie over a dreary space, devoid of all the necessities of life; hence the 
provisions, the phantoms of food and water to supply the needs of the 
spirit traveler. 

The Medicine Chief of a band of Indians divides the honors with 
the war chief, obtaining, if anything, more than an equal share. He is 
always dignified, the owner of the most attractive wives and ponies, holds 
no social intercourse with any except the principal men of the tribe, is 
the spiritual head of the tribe and the recipient of the confidences of the 
women, is the all-powerful physician of both body and soul, and when 
the fighting force takes the field, he proves his faith in his own power 
and religion by entering into the heat of the fight and the thick of the 
carnage. With the weakening of the authority of the head chief, the 
Medicine Chief has, if anything, gained in infiuence. 

The Medicine Chief is assisted in his work of exorcising evil spirits 
by a band of women, who howl to the drone of his incantations. Their 
wails and howls draw the women of the other lodges to the scene of 
action, and this deafening chorus is intensified by a muscular young 
priest who beats a tom-tom over the head of the poor patient. When 
the Medicine Chief dies, his successor steps into the coveted position 
only by coming forward with the claim that he has found the medi¬ 
cine which will keep away the Bad God, and then proving it by 
obtruding himself into every danger and coming out unscathed. 


THE MEDICINE DANCE. 


391 


western tribes of Indians have a mysterious some- 
thing, which is in careful charge of the head chief or Medicine Chief, 
it being wrapped in a number of complicated coverings. Its influ¬ 
ences are all good, and it is always carried in war, or on important expe¬ 
ditions, by the Medicine Chief. Each tribe, as well as each Indian, has, 
of course, a particular medicine; but this thing is different — it goes 
withou t a name. The tribal medicine of the Cheyennes is a bundle 
of arrows, wrapped in skins and placed in a small case of stiff raw-hide. 
It was captured by the Pawnees, some years ago, and the whole tribe 
was thrown into a panic, expecting instant annihilation. Runners were 
dispatched ; but the medicine was not regained until the Cheyennes 
had paid the Pawnees three hundred ponies. The Utes attribute many 
of their late troubles to the capture by the Arapahoes of a little squat 
stone figure which they had adopted as the “ tribal medicine.” 

THE MEDICINE DANCE. 

In former days the Medicine Chief had power of life and death 
over the actions of the dancers, each of whom was placed in a large 
ring, his eyes fixed upon an image suspended from above, and hav¬ 
ing in his mouth a small whistle ; as he danced hour after hour, he con¬ 
tinued to blow upon the whistle and keep his head painfully thrown 
back upon his shoulders. Eight or ten hours of this distressing per¬ 
formance would generallv throw some of the warriors into a faint. 
They were then dragged out of the ring, and if not revived by the 
mystic figures which the priest painted upon their faces and bodies, cold 
water was thrown over them. He miMit order them back until thev 
actually danced themselves to death. In case the dance progressed to 
the end of the appointed time without the occurrence of any misfor¬ 
tune, the tribe were assured of good medicine, which generally induced 
them to go to war. 

If the exhausted warriors could not be revived, the dance was broken 
up in confusion. The women shrieked and inflicted ghastly wounds 
upon themselves. The men howled and rushed off to kill their horses 
for the use of the warriors who had preceded them to the Happy Hunt¬ 
ing Grounds. Bad Medicine had been proclaimed; the Bad God had 
them well in hand. 

The Indians still have their medicine dances (in lodges which the 
women construct), but the Medicine Chief is no longer autocrat, and 
whether the omen is good or bad is determined, in a general way, by 
the conduct of the different bands toward each other, by the attitude of 
the elements toward the festivities and by the fervor displayed in this 


392 


BURIAL 1‘LACES. 


aboriginal revival. The dancers, however, gaze at the same dangling 
image — the Good God (painted white) on one side, and the Bad God 
(black) on the other; some enter to display their costumes, some to 
show their powers of endurance, and others from pure religious fervor 
or because they hope to thus propitiate the Bad God for some evil he 
has brought to them. But all are at liberty to withdraw when they see 
fit, the duration of the dance being fixed at four days. A United 
States officer, who lived for over thirty years among the Indians of the 
West, is authority for the statement that some of the dancers keep in 
motion before their image, blowing constantly upon their whistles, for 
seventy-five hours without sleep, food or drink. 

Succeeding the medicine dance, and occasionally as a portion of the 
proceedings, is the self-torture of the braves. Here the Medicine Chief 
also is master of ceremonies, and with his own hand makes the incisions 
in the muscles of the breast, through which horsehair ropes are passed 
and tied to pieces of wood ; or he uses his broad-bladed knife on the 
muscles of the back, lifting them from the bones and passing a rope 
underneath, with a stick at the end so as to keep it fast. The free ends 
of the ropes are either attached to poles of the lodge or to heavy mov¬ 
able objects, and the aim is to tear the sticks from the wounds and 
obtain freedom. Sometimes the Indian is unable at once to do this, and 
must remain without food or water until the tissues soften ; but it is 
good medicine to tear loose at once. As soon as freed, the warrior 
is examined by the Medicine Chief, and if all is right, religious cere¬ 
monies are gone through with and his wounds are properly attended to. 
H e is honored and sung. Should one, however, during this fearful 
ordeal, which has been known to last several days, show any sign of 
weakness, he is sent away a disgraced man. 

BURIAL PLACES. 

Indian tribes who live in somewhat permanent villages select reg¬ 
ular burial grounds, often placing the corpse upon a scaffold which is 
roofed over with a frame work covered with skins. If the body is that 
of a warrior, it is dressed in the most gorgeous apparel, and hanging from 
his neck is his medicine bag. His weapons are by his side and his 
totem bag is tied to his lance or rifle. At his girdle, or on his lance 
or shield, are hung all the scalps he has taken in life. Pots, kettles and 
other utensils which he will need in his spirit journey are fastened to 
the platform outside, and over all are hung streamers of red and white 
cloth to frighten away beasts and birds of prey. 



INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


393 


Caves and the forks of trees are favorite burial places for wander¬ 
ing tribes. Women and female children of common people are put out 
of sight with as little ceremony as scalped warriors, or those who die 
except in the fight. Indians near the agencies frequently use for cof¬ 
fins the boxes which are sent to them filled with soap or crackers. 

The burial customs of nearly all the Western tribes, except the 
Utes, have been quite carefully investigated by travelers and army 
officers. After the burial of one of their number, these Indians care¬ 
fully erase every footprint which may lead to a discovery of the place of 
interment. Although several army officers were present at the funeral 
of Ouray, the great Ute chieftain, they were ordered back when they 
attempted to accompany the body to the grave. The corpse was wrapped 
in a blanket thrown across a horse and taken away. When, a few 
weeks later, it was removed to Ouray’s own country, the officers managed 
to be taken along by the Indians and found the body in a natural 
cave which had been walled up with rocks. Another Ute grave, 
discovered by accident, was found to have been excavated in a hill and 
lined with walls of stone, cemented with mud. 

INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 

Scattered all up and down the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys are 
those remarkable earth mounds, covering areas of from a few feet to 
square miles in extent. Some of them form simple hills or pyramids, 
while others are portions of a general design which was evidently thus 
fashioned upon the earth’s surface to convey an idea. Thus in Adams 
county, Ohio, is a series of embankments representing a serpent, over 
1,000 feet in length, which is disgorging an oval figure, supposed to be an 
egg — a delineation of the creation of the earth. 

Figures of animals have also been traced in mounds in Wisconsin ; 
in fact, it seems to be a peculiarity of the antiquities found in that State 
that they generally represent something more animate than mathematical 
ficmres, either the bear, the buffalo, the raccoon, the lizard, the turtle, the 
tadpole, the war eagle, or man. From these mounds, as in those of other 
states, skulls, stone carvings, silver and copper ornaments, etc., have 
been excavated. Metal from the Lake Superior regions, mica from the 
Alleghanies, and shells and porphyry from Mexico have all been found 
in the same mound, indicating that the civilization of which these 
remains are an index was widely extended. They seem to have been 
used either as temple sites, burial places, observatories or for purposes 
of defense. 



394 


INDIAN ANTIQUITIES. 


It is noticeable that the mound-builders have been influenced by the 
same considerations as the later order of city-builders; “hence St. Louis, 
Chicago, Milwaukee and other cities of the West are founded on ruins 
of pre-historic structures. River terraces and river bottoms seem to 
have been the favorite places for these earth-works. In such localities 
the natural advantages of the country could be made available with much 
less trouble than in portions of the country lying at a distance from the 
water-courses.” 

Geology, naturally, comes to the aid of the student who is curious 
to approximate to the era when the mound-builders flourished. Their 
works never appear upon the lowest of the river terraces of the West. 
The earth of the mounds is usually of the driest description, and yet 
the skulls and skeletons which have been unearthed are in the last stages 
of decay. Putting the two facts together, scientists conclude that the 
mounds were constructed when the rivers occupied the higher levels, 
and place the builders in an era at least 200 or 300 B. C. In the 
Titanic birds, beasts and reptiles which they laid upon the earth, may 
be traced the existence of the totem, an institution which has been 
noted as still alive among the Indians of this country and Alaska. 






THE MEXICANS. 

MYTHOLOGY OF MEXICO 


RADITIONS disagree as to even the direction from which 
the aborigines came who settled upon Mexican soil. The 
first historical race were the Toltecs, who left a written account 
of their government. Their capital was Tula, a short distance 
north of the present City of Mexico. The Toltecs afterwards 
united with a ruder tribe from the north. Immierations from 
the north were thereafter continuous, and with the influx came 
often improved methods of agriculture, the mechanical arts, 
and a high order of civilization. From various unions of the 
immigrants with the settled population, republics, nations and 
kingdoms were founded, previous to the arrival of the Aztecs, or 
Mexicans, the most important of them all. 

The supposed period of their wanderings varies from fifty to one 
hundred and sixty years. Traces of their journeyings exist in the 
remains of vast fortresses, houses and granaries in New Mexico, Arizona 
and Mexico. The most noted ruins are those found near Casas Grandes, 
a town in Chihuahua, the most northern district of Mexico. The largest 
edifice was built of mud mixed with gravel and seems originally to have 
been from three to six stories in height. For fifty or sixty miles there¬ 
from, the plain and banks of the streams are covered with similiar war¬ 
like ruins and artificial mounds. From the latter have been excavated 
stone axes, corn grinders and fine pottery. 

ITS PRIMITIVE PEOPLE. 

The doorways of these structures have the form of those noticed in 
the ruins of Central America; and antiquarians are not wanting who 
would give the Aztecs a southern origin. At all events, various tribes 
who spoke the same language settled in the vicinity of Lake Tezcuco 
during the thirteenth and first part of the fourteenth century, and the 
Aztecs established a city therein, approached by long and narrow cause- 

395 















































ITS PRIMITIVE PEOPLE. 


396 

ways and defended by powerful fleets. They absorbed not only the 
first settlers, but the tribes of their own nation, and under the lead of 
their great military chieftain Mexi assumed a new name, and eventually 
gave it to millions of people. The Aztecs were cruel in the extreme, 
but held the reins of government with an able hand, so that when the 
Spaniards came their empire extended over the whole territory of the 
present Republic. 

The judicial system was very complete, but the laws were most 
sanguinary. For embezzlement of the taxes, the offender was put to 
death with all his kindred to the fourth degree. Drunkenness in youth 
was a capital offense. The penalty of death was the rule. 

The Aztecs had no system of writing. The laws, however, were 
few, and were represented by paintings, the judges being attended by 
artists who pictorially described the suits and the parties thereto. 

Prisoners of war were devoured or enslaved, and thousands of 
human victims were sacrificed to their god of war, who was at the head 
of their thirteen deities. Their god of the air, peaceable and benign, 
is said to have been driven from the country, the ruins of one of his 
temples being seen to this day at Cholula. The inferior deities of the 
Aztecs numbered several hundred. In every house, however poor, 
their hideous images were worshiped. Mountains, plains and cities 
were covered with temples erected to the gods of high and low degree, 
and within them were thousands of schools and colleges taught bv the 
priests. 

The system which the Aztecs had for the reckoning of time was 
received by them from the Toltecs. Their year of 365 days was divided 
into eighteen months of twenty days each, with the odd days added to 
the last month. After the termination of a cycle of fifty-two years they 
added thirteen days, to allow for the six hours by which the tropical 
year exceeded their civil year. The year, month and day had each its 
hieroglyphic sign, and at the end of every cycle a solemn astronomical 
festival was held. Other features of their system of reckoning time 
indicated that the ancient Mexicans had some correct ideas of the revolu¬ 
tions of the sun and moon, as did the Hindus, the Persians, the Chal¬ 
deans and other Asiatic people. 

Agriculture and the manufacture of metals and cotton were at a 
high pitch of excellence. Their cotton cloth was interwoven with rabbit 
hair and feathers, their substitutes for wool and silk. 

For the rapid transmission of news, towers were erected at intervals 
of six miles along the high roads, where couriers were always in waiting 
for dispatches, which were transferred from hand to hand at each stage. 
Dispatches were thus carried 300 miles in a day.” 


THE HOLY CROSS AND VIRGIN. 


397 


THE HOLY CROSS AND VIRGIN. 

^‘It is strange, yet well authenticated and has given rise to many 
theories, that the symbol of the cross was already known to the Indians 
before the arrival of Cortes. In the island of Cozumel, near Yucatan, 
there were several; in Yucatan itself there was a stone cross; and there, 
an Indian, considered a prophet among his countrymen, had declared 
that a nation bearing the same as a symbol, should arrive from a distant 
country. More extraordinary still was a temple dedicated to the Holy 
Cross by the Toltec nation in the City of Cholula. Near Tulansingo 
also is a cross engraved on a rock, with various characters, which the 
Indians, by tradition, attribute to the apostle Saint Thomas. In 
Oajaca also there existed a cross which the Indians from time immemorial 
had been accustomed to consider as a divine symbol. By order of the 
Bishop Cervantes, it was placed in a sumptuous chapel in the Cathedral. 
Information concerning its discovery, together with a small cross cut 
out of its wood, was sent to Rome to Paul the Fifth, who received it on 
his knees, singing a hymn.” 

It is likewise remarkable that the Aztec ^ocl of war was said to have 

o 

been born of a Holy Virgin, who was in the service of the Great Temple, 
and that when ^ he priests would have stoned her to death, having knowl¬ 
edge of her disgrace, a voice was heard saying: “Pear not, mother, 
for I shall save thy honor and thy glory.” Upon which the god was 
born, as he is represented, with a shield in his left hand, an arrow in his 
right, a plume of green feathers on his head, his face painted blue and 
his left leg adorned with feathers. 


AN ABORIGINAL TRIBE. 

In Yucatan and the adjoining districts of Mexico and Central 
America, the Maya Indians decidedly predominate. They retain their 
ancient language, which is distinct from the Toltec of Mexico, although 
their former system of reckoning time was the same as that which was 
passed down by the Toltecs to the Aztecs. The ruins of the Mayas’ 
great temples are supposed to be found at Palenque, Mexico, although 
certain archaeologists insist that they are of Toltec origin ; the truth of 
the matter seems to have been that the two races were closely associated 
at one time, that they were both civilized and retained their own dis¬ 
tinctive alphabet and language, but absorbed from each other many 
features of their national life. The Mayas cultivated the soil and were of 
a commercial turn, having sailing vessels, and money consisting of shells, 
beans and copper; but they flattened the heads of their infants, painted 


398 


THE MEXICAN AS HE IS. 


and tattooed their bodies, filed their teeth, wore pieces of amber in their 
noses, and in outward appearance were savages. Their religion was bar¬ 
barous, the victims being slain with arrows and thrown into a sacred pit. 
Arrows, spears and copper hatchets, and an armor made of quilted cotton, 
with salt inside, were their war accoutrements. They had drums and 
wind instruments, and were fond of dancing and drinking a kind of mead. 

THE MEXICAN AS HE IS. 


Although the Indian population of Mexico was distributed among 
the Spaniards as slaves it was of so hardy a fibre that it was not crushed. 
Under priestly leadership, the Indians revolted from Spanish tyranny, 
and finally, in national congress assembled (1813), they declared 
Mexico independent. The quarrels of ambitious leaders were followed 
by a re-establishment of Spanish authority, and by the proclamation of 
the Republic, in i82zj. 

The present population consists of Indians, descendants of the*early 

Spanish settlers and Spaniards of European birth, 
and mestizos or half-breeds. Two-thirds of the 
population is of Indian blood, and probably one- 
half of the descendants of the Toltecs and Aztecs 
now roam among the mountains of the north, 
without fixed habitations. The native population 
of the City of Mexico devote themselves to vari¬ 
ous menial occupations, such as those of water 
carriers, domestics, muleteers, and public venders. 

A traveler who has been there, states that 
the street cries of these venders are simply ear- 
splitting. At dawn the coal man and the grease 
man start the concert, being joined somewhat 
later by the butcher. Then follows the woman 
who buys kitchen stuff, and she who proposes 
to exchange fruit for any hot peppers which the householder may have 
in stock. Their cries are drowned by a peddler with needles, pins, shirt 
buttons, tape, etc., and behind him stands an Indian with tempting 
baskets of bananas and oranges. A little woman offers “little fat cakes 
from the oven, hot”; while at midday, cheese and honey and lottery 
chances have their noisy advocates, and towards evening “ chestnuts hot 
and roasted,” “ducks, oh my soul, hot ducks,” and maize cakes. These 
latter are mixed with a little lime and “have been in use all through this 
country since the earliest ages of its history, without any change in the 



A MEXICAN. 






MINERS AND MULETEERS. 


399 


manner of baking them, excepting that, for the noble Mexicans in 
former days, they used to be kneaded with various medicinal plants, 
supposed to render them more wholesome.” 

‘‘ One circumstance must be observed by all who travel in Mexican 
territory. There is not one human being or passing object to be seen that 
is not in itself a picture, or which would not form a good subject for the 
pencil. The Indian women, with their plaited hair, and little children slung 
to their backs, their large straw hats, and petticoats of two colors—the 
long strings of arrieros with their loaded mules, and swarthy, wild-looking 
faces — the chance horseman who passes with his sarape of many colors, 
his high ornamented saddle, Mexican hat, silver stirrups and leathern 
boots — all is picturesque.” 

MINERS AND MULETEERS. 

Mexico IS an elevated plateau, formed by the expansion of the 
Cordilleras of Central America. Its climate is both tropical and tem¬ 
perate, and its products partake of both zones. Wheat, oats and corn, 
sugar-cane, pineapples and oranges, the ash, the mahogany, and the palm 
trees are all found. 

The chief natural wealth of Mexico, and which is being gradually 
re-developed by American and European enterprise, consists of its gold 
and silver mines. The gold mines are on the west side of the Sierra 
Madre Mountains, north of Durango. Silver abounds in the western 
declivities of most of the mountains and in the “Vela Madre” lode at 
Guanajuato, it has been discovered in beds of from ten to fifty yards in 
depth, being mixed with sulphur, antimony and arsenic. Carbonate of 
soda, used in smelting silver, is plentiful on the surface of many of the 
lakes and table lands. 

The common miners are, for the most part, of the Indian race. 
They work nearly naked, and sometimes go together in bands, taking 
their equal share of the “find,” besides being paid a small sum by the 
company which is operating the mine. On issuing from the mouth of 
the mine, the Indians tneiii^elves divide the lumps of ore, rich and poor, 
into a certain number of heaps in the presence of an overseer, who 
determines which portion shall be given to them. There are subter¬ 
ranean offices where the tools and lanterns, or tapers, are kept. These 
are regularly distributed and reclaimed. 

The arriero, or muleteer, is an institution of Mexico, or New Spain. 
He is the type of honesty in a country where that commodity is at a dis¬ 
count, the most precious freight being unhesitatingly delivered to his 



400 


A MEXICAN BONANZA. 


care. The Indian occasionally rises to the dignity of a proprietor, as 
well as a driver of mules. He has his assistants, or mozos, in whom the 
Indian blood always predominates. The whole cavalcade are armed 
with such weapons as are at hand, as a protection against bandits, who 
are still not unknown. This, of course, is when'the journey is to be of 
some distance. It sometimes happens that the arriero, when expecting 
to pass through a particularly dangerous country, thinks best to engage 
the services of a bandit as guide and protector, and when the good silver 
dollars have been fairly passed over to “ the gentleman of the road ” the 
party has really no need of further uneasiness. 

A MEXICAN BONANZA. 

The American agave, which is often confounded with the aloe, is 
found and cultivated on the highlands of Mexico, and is especially pro¬ 
lific around the city. The plant often shoots up to a height of thirty feet, 
along the stem being branches of flowers, and at its summit is a crowded 
head of large fleshy leaves. After flowering, the plant dies, but the 
root continues to send up new shoots. The leaves are from five to seven 
feet long, and from their fibres are made thread, paper, oakum, ropes and 
hammocks. Cut into slices they are also used for feeding cattle, and 
the juice of the leaves, or of the roots themselves, makes a very good 
soap. The thorns which terminate the gigantic leaves were the means 
by which the Aztec priests tore their bodies for religion’s sake ; they 
were, furthermore, the nails and pins of Mexican antiquity. 

But, in the eyes of the natives, its chief value consists in its proper, 
ties as a producer of pulque.” The moment the experienced Indian 
becomes aware that his maguey (so he calls it) is about to flower, he 
cuts out the heart, covers it over with the side leaves of the plant, and 
all the juice which should have gone to the great stem of the flower 
runs into the empty basin thus formed, into which the Indian, thrice a day 
and during several months in succession, hiserts his gourd, a kind of 
syphon, and applying his mouth to the ocher end, draws off the liquor by 
suction. First it is called honey-water and is sweet and scentless ; but 
easily ferments when transferred to the skins or earthen vases where it is 
kept. To assist in its fermentation, however, a little old pulque is added 
to it, and in twenty-four hours after it leaves the plant you may imbibe 
it in all its perfection. It is said to be the most wholesome drink in the 
world, and remarkably agreeable when one has overcome the first shock 
occasioned by its rancid odor. At all events the maguey is a source of 
unfailing profit, the consumption of pulque being enormous, so that 


MEXICAN SPORTS. 


401 


many of the richest families in the capital owe their fortune entirely to the 
produce of their magueys. Besides, there is a strong brandy distilled 
from pulque. Together with the maguey grows another immense pro¬ 
duction of nature, the ‘ organos,’ which resembles the pipes of an organ, 
and being covered with prickles, and about six feet high makes the 
strongest natural fence imaginable.” 

MEXICAN SPORTS. 

Though no more elev^ating than a prize fight, a bull fight is the nat. 
ional sport in Mexico as it is in Spain. A greater variety of classes 
countenance it, or rather thoroughly enjoy it, than in the United States 
applaud the brute contest of man with man. 

Mexican bulls are much smaller than those of Spain, but when one 
bounds into the ring, lashing his tail, rolling his wild eyes, finally fixing 
them upon the matadors and picadors, armed with their colored scarfs 
and their lances, and with head down dashes furiously at them, now 
pricked with their weapons, now maddened by exploding fire-crackers, 
now lifted off his feet and rolled in the dust by a mounted picador, now 
crushing a horseman to the ground, bellowing, covered with blood, fran¬ 
tically charging at nothing, at bay, waiting for renewed strength, stuck 
full of darts, stabbed to his death, still fighting off the darkness, stag¬ 
gering, dead — when a Mexican bull is thus goaded, and so desperately 
and hopelessly strives for life and revenge, few would wish for a mam¬ 
moth brute of Andalusia or Castile to prolong the contest. 

The ceremony of stamping the bulls with the owner s name is a 
great treat for the country people, and especially the Indians, who 
assemble for miles around to see the sight. They occupy every tree 
and point of ground overlooking the enclosure, while within, out of 
harm’s way, a platform is erected for agents and small farmers, with 
their gayly dressed wives and daughters. The men themselves, who are 
the principals, are not averse to show, as witness the silver rolls and 
gold linings of their hats, new deerskin pantaloons and embroidered 
jackets with silver buttons. Well, sometimes nearly a thousand bulls 
are driven in from the plains, and then three or four at a time are 
forced into the enclosure, where the men are impatiently waiting with 
their lassoes to receive them. Although the bellowing brutes frequently 
wound or kill their men, their ultimate fate is inevitable. They are 
thrown to the ground, and although they dash their heads against it in 
rage and despair, they are branded with the evidence of their serfdom. 

Some of the bulls, when fairly conquered, seem too proud to utter a 
26 



402 


THE CITY OF MEXICO. 


sound ; others, when the iron enters their flesh, burst out into roars 
which start the echoes for miles around. After a great number of the 
bulls have been caught and branded, it is customary for the spectators 
to be treated to a bull feast. The dead animal is given by the proprie¬ 
tor to the torcadores, and buried by them in a fire-hole. It is then 
covered with earth and branches, and left to bake. 

Cock-fighting is as fashionable a sport in Mexico as bulbfight¬ 
ing. The exhibition is attended by ladies of the highest society, who 
sit in boxes around the pit, betting with the gentlemen on their favor¬ 
ites. Their toilet is brilliant, and the men promenade around the circle, 
attired, whatever their station, in short jackets. The President of the 
Republic, his suite and a sprinkling of foreign ministers were in attend¬ 
ance”;— this would not be so remarkable a truth to state. As a small 
knife is fastened to the leg of each bird, the fights are sometimes short 
and most bloody, the spectators clapping their hands and otherwise 
giving way to their enthusiasm when a more than usually brilliant stroke 
is delivered. 

THE CITY OF MEXICO. 

The approach to the city, which stands on an extensive plateau 
surrounded by lofty mountains, is grand in the extreme. The general 
figure of the valley of Mexico is an irregular oval, sixty by thirty-five 
miles, and in the center is the city itself, around which cluster so many 
memories of the ancient empire of the Aztecs. Its area of more than 
1700 square miles, includes five lakes. Once within the city, the 
most striking features are tlie great Plaza Mayor, pronounced one of- 
the finest squares in the Western world, and its broad, raised, paved 
streets, lined with double rows of trees, extending far out into the 
country and all converging at the public square. 

In the times of Montezuma three causeways led from his capital to 
firm land, the streets were intersected with canals and all around were 
thousands of skimming canoes, which were the principal means of com¬ 
munication with the outside empire. Only one of the canals — that of 
Chaleo — is now maintained. The causeways remain, enlarged, and 
there are several other new ones, some of them being lined with pop¬ 
lars. They became, in fact, the groundwork of more than one grand 
thoroughfare, for which the city is noted, and along two of them, those 
of Tacuba and Chapultepec, fresh water is brought from the mountains. 

The aqueduct of Chapultepec is over two miles in length and that 
of Sante Fe six miles. The hill of Chapultepec formerly sprung from 
near the margin of the lake, and at its foot are still the remains of an 
ancient garden, now a tangled labyrinth of myrtle, jessamine and sweet 




HOLY WEEK. 


403 


peas, from which peep out stained marble fountains, fish-ponds and 
baths. The garden encircles the base of the rock, which is about a 
mile in circumference, and is, all in all, a sad but beautiful memento of 
the days when Montezuma retreated to its solitudes, even when the 
Spanish invaders were marching rapturously toward his Venetian capital. 

Within the Plaza Mayor of the city is a magnificent cathedral, 
erected on the ruins of the wonderful temple of the Aztec God Mixitli. 
It is adorned with the “ Kallenda,” a circular stone covered with hiero¬ 
glyphics representing the months of the year. This is a mass of por- 
phyry, 24 tons in weight. The ancient temple included not only the 
site of the cathedral and the plaza, but much of the outlying territory, 
for its massive stone walls are said to have included five hundred dwell¬ 
ings and colleges for'the priests and seminaries for the priestesses, mys¬ 
terious minor temples and sanctuaries, consecrated fountains, gardens 
of holy flowers, towers built of human skulls, and squares designed for 
religious dances. We are told that five thousand priests chanted 
night and day in the great Temple, to the honor and in the service of 
the monstrous idols, who were anointed thrice a day with the most pre¬ 
cious perfumes, and that of these priests the most austere were clothed 
in black, their long hair dyed with ink, and their bodies anointed with 
the ashes of burnt scorpions and spiders.” 

The Christian cathedral is gothic in form, with two lofty towers, the 
entire structure being richly ornamented with gold, silver and precious 
stones. Inside is a quaint balustrade of brass and silver, which was 
brought from China. This, with a few kneeling Indian women and beggars, 
some of them lepers, includes the usual sights of the interior. In the 
courtyard, without, is a large stone, hollowed in the middle, upon which 
the ancient Mexican was held by six Aztec priests, while the seventh cut 
open his breast, and, with a golden spoon, put his heart into the mouth 
of the idol. It has been surmised that this is the exceedingly great 
stone ” which was found by the Mexicans as late as the reign of Monte¬ 
zuma, when it was recorded that it was brought to the capital with great 
labor and pomp for the sacrifices, on which occasion 12,210 victims were 
immolated. The stone is a cylindrical mass of porphyry, twenty-five 
feet in circumference, covered both on the surface and sides with sculp¬ 
tures in relief. 

The palace of the Cortez, in the same square, is a vast irregular 
structure containing goverment offices, schools and public institutions of 
various kinds, but is falling into decay. Nearly a hundred churches and 
convents, theaters, and a circus for bull-fights, with memories of bye-gone 
<iays clinging to every square mile of the city and its suburbs, deserted 


404 


HOLY WEEK. 


houses, gardens and chapels, and miraculous Spanish tales springing up 
from countless spots of holy ground — such is the region which is so 
filled up with strange contrasts of the old and the new, of worldliness, 
religion and superstition. 

HOLY WEEK. 

Holy Week in Mexico collects every element of the republic’s 
population. Inside the great cathedral, on Palm Sunday, a dense for¬ 
est is gently waving ; for an army of half-naked Indians have brought 
their branches of palms with them, and are swaying, expectantly, under 
the knowledge that the priests will soon approach. Each palm, which 
is dried and ingeniously plaited, is about six feet high, and when it has 
been blessed, will be carried home and placed reverently upon the wall 
of the little hut. 

On Holy Thursday all of Mexico is in the streets, showing its best 
clothes ; for no carriages are permitted abroad. There are rich senoras 
in velvets, satins, diamonds and pearls; women of lower rank in richly 
embroidered muslins, lace trimmed petticoats and white satin shoes ; 
others showing their Indian blood in feature as well as by their gay- 
colored petticoats and garments; handsome peasant women, attired as 
richly as any ; graceful children, with their masses of hair plaited and falling 
down their backs, their costumes determined by diverse tastes ; men of all 
nationalities, French, German, American, Spanish; the Mexican with 
his large hat and embroidered jacket—all are at the capital to enjoy 
themselves, and most of them to suspend their jabberings, quarrelings 
and flirtations, and fall upon their knees at the approach of anything 
which is considered holy. Around the great square the scene is bewild¬ 
ering, especially at sunset of Good Friday, when the Procession of the 
Cross attracts tens of thousands of devout Catholics from all the huts 
and palaces of the country. The poor Indians appear again in force; 
the men in their blankets, the women trotting along, their black hair 
plaited with dirty red ribbon, a piece of woolen cloth wrapped around 
them, and a little mahogany baby hangirig behind, its face upturned to 
the sky and its head jerking vigorously, but escaping dislocation. 

The same scenes, only on a smaller scale, are repeated in the 
country villages. They have their market-places and little churches, 
monasteries and high-walled gardens, narrow lanes, Indian Huts, roses 
and trees, and the scenes in Christ’s life portrayed by living actors in 
the most public places. The holy dramas and the festivities are accom¬ 
panied by good music; which would not be expected of every American 
village, though it is true of every Mexican town. Music, it has been 
said, is a sixth sense in Mexico. 



FEMALE BEAUTY 


405 


'Fi^:male p>kauty. 

Those who have investigated the subject of female beauty are posi- 
tive that the most comely Indians are not found in the towns but in the 
country. Even those who cOme to the city with their fruit and vegeta¬ 
bles, although very gentle and polite, are not as a rule beautiful. 
Occasionally, however, there flashes out from this general monotony a 
face and form, soft and yet dark-hued ; wonderful black eyes and hair, 
pearly teeth, and delicately molded hands and feet, arms and bust alive 
with lines of beauty — such a vision as might have captivated Cortes 
himself, and which may be a modern wit¬ 
ness to the far-famed beauty of the ancient 
Aztec women of noble blood. 

It is said that the Indians (men) near 
the City of Mexico, are, many of them, of 
noble Aztec blood, although, outwardly, 
they seem as degraded as the natives of 
the country districts. The existence of 
enormous hidden wealth is even reported 
among some of these ragged and-bare- 
footed specimens. 

The wives and daughters of farmers, 
who ride into market on horseback sitting 
in front of their servants, are, at. tirnes, 
charming types of bright, healthy beauty, 
but it is seldom that one is startled with 
an apparition of beauty. Usually the 
women of the better classes acquire a 
coarseness and a corpulence in early life 
because of the quantities of meat and 
sweatmeats which are consumed in so mild 
a climate. Indian women can not afford 
it. Their diet is mild and more suited 
to the country, and they take sufficient 
fresh air and exercise to shade down any natural tendency to cor¬ 
pulency. 

The native woman is etherialized, also, by her love for flowers 
which seems to be an undying passion born in the Mexican blood. • In 
the market-places she often loads her little stand of green branches with 
brio-ht-hued flowers, which she sells if she can, and with which she be- 
decks herself if she does not find a purchaser. Many of the Indian 



























4o6 


IN THE SUBURBS. 


women bring their fruit and A^egetaoies by way of the canal, and their 
canoes, as they glide along, seem moving gardens of sweet peas, 
poppies and roses, each with a tiower-goddess in the center. In the 
evening, after they have disposed of their regular ‘‘truck,’’ they crown 
themselves with garlands, and start, singing, on their homeward journey. 
In the village churches, floor, walls, and altar are decorated with these 
fresh trophies, and a christening, a marriage and a funeral are occasions 
where the Indian woman buries herself and all around her in nature’s 
choicest gifts of the earth. 


IN THE SUBURBS. 

Before the Aztecs nad acquired dominion over the other tribes and 
states they were obliged to live not only upon the natural islands of Lakes 
Tezcuco and Chaleo, but upon land which they formed by weaving to¬ 
gether the roots of plants and twigs, placing upon this soft soil, which they 
drew from the bottom of the lake, and upon this ground sowing their 
maize, chili and other necessary plants. Flowers and herbs followed, 
and the lakes were soon dotted with floating gardens, which became 
gems of pure beauty, when Tenochtitlan was the mighty capital of the 
Aztec empire. The once floating gardens have now become fixtures in 
the marshy grounds between the two lakes. They are covered with 
cauliflowers, chili, tomatoes, cabbages and other vegetables, intermixed 
with flowers. The gardens are separated by narrow trenches of water, 
and each has its small Indian hut and flower-loving, musical occupants. 
Tinkling guitars, children and adults, garlanded with roses and poppies 
and gaily dancing, jars of pulque and long festoons of dried and salted 
beef, are elements which may be combined in various ways to make up 
home and out-door pictures of life in this vicinity. Unfortunately, the 
stronger brandy is apt to succeed the mild pulque, and tne music, sing¬ 
ing and dancing. A drunken brawl, the flash of a knife in one of the 
little huts, or on the sward outside, a cry of pain and a corpse, is fre¬ 
quently the finis of this Arcadian picture. 

These Indian huts have usually mud floors, and small altars, with 
palm leaf branches or leaves (which have been blessed) in one corner. 
The Virgin is generally represented by a collection of daubs on one 
wall. The other decorations are earthen vessels, a few touo-h, half- 
naked children and some dirty dogs. The Indian woman is within, or 
she may be off to work, having left her pots, children and dogs to take 
care of themselves. 

The hut of the Indian who lives far from the city is often built of 


Till-: centra I. AMERICANS. 


407 

lig^ht bamboo frames, thatched with palmetto leaves, not only on the 
roof but on the sides, and divided into two or three compartments by 
coarse screens of grass matting. 

THE CENTRAL AMERICANS. 

The republics of Costa Rica, Gautemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, 
and San Salvador, and the English Colony of Balize, or British Hon¬ 
duras, constitute Central America. The population of the country is 
similar to that of Mexico, and aside from its charming birds and hid¬ 
eous reptiles, interest has centered in the territory as a field of investiga¬ 
tion for the antiquarian, and the civil engineer prospecting for a route 
for an inter-oceanic canal. Central America was subdued by one of 
Cortes’ lieutenants, and the five colonies did not become independent 
until 1823. 

REMAINS OF KINGDOMS. 

The ruins whose structure stamps them as the most primitive of 
those found in South America are those of Copan, Honduras. They 
are in the form of terraces, or pyramids, upon which were erected mas¬ 
sive buildings, approached by broad staircases. When these structures 
were several stories in height, each story was smaller than the preceding 
one, so that the building itself had the form of a pyramid. The fronts 
were covered with stucco, or carved into elaborate figures and designs, 
while the interiors were divided into narrow corridors and chambers, 
richly ornamented with stucco work and carvings, and containing mys¬ 
terious tablets, idols and altars. Grand monoliths, or upright stones, 
arise from the areas between the temples. In the islands of Lake 
Nicaragua, like evidences of a pre-historic worship and civilization 
occur, as do also more primitive marks of life, such as rude mounds of 
earth and uncut stones. The general appearance of all these ancient 
structures from Mexico to Chili, forces the conviction upon one’s mind 
that they were built not only as temples and dwelling-houses, but as 
fortresses. 

At Palenque, near the Central American frontier, is a series of 
remarkable ruins, consisting of terraces of cut stone, surmounted by 
edifices whose walls and interior are covered with figures in stucco and 
hieroglyphics. The Palace, which stands on a terraced pyramid, is 
faced with cut stone, being 310 feet long and 260 feet broad. Its face 
was evidently once covered with stucco, and brightly painted. In the 
large courts are numbers of tablets, and one of stone which represents 
a figure seated cross-legged like Buddha. The pavements are skillfully 
constructed of large blocks of stone. 


4o8 


THE NICARAGUANS. 


THE HONDURANS. 

The proportion of Indians among the Hondurans is not as large as 
that of Guatemala, and they show no such encouraging advances. The 
whole of the eastern portion of the Republic is given over to aboriginal 
tribes, who are believed to be related to the once blood-thirsty and 
powerful Caribs who resisted the Spaniards with such ferocity in the 
Lesser Antilles and on the mainland of South America. Numbers of 
them have embraced the Catholic faith, and now devote themselves to 
agriculture. The “ Black Caribs ” are a tribe who have largely inter¬ 
married with negroes. Formerly held as slaves by the Spaniards, 
they broke away from their bondage, and, in early times, combined 
into bands which were as great a terror to the country as the pure 
Caribs themselves. The western portions of Honduras are generally 
occupied by the descendants of early Spanish settlers, who live upon the 
sea coast or on extensive estates in the interior. Here cattle, horses 
and mules upon the plains find good pasturage, but both live-stock and 
land are neglected on account of the scarcity of laborers. The most 
attention is given to the mules, as they perform almost all the carrying 
trade of the country. 

Honduras is rich in the precious metals, her silver mines being 
found in the west, in combination with iron, lead and copper. Gold is 
in the east and in the west, but few mines are now worked. Copper 
mines are numerous. Beautiful marble abounds. But the same old 
story must be told. Civil disturbances and a lazy people have retarded 
the development of the country, materially and intellectually. 

Honduras has upon her coasts, especially those of the Caribbean 
Sea, the most commodious harbors of Central America. 

THE NICARAGUANS. 

The population of the Nicaraguan Republic consists of a mixture 
of whites and Indians, negroes and Indians, whites and blacks, and of 
pure-blooded Indians. The Indians of pure blood outnumber all the 
rest, their special country being the basins of Lakes Nicaragua and 
Managua and the Pacific coast. A number of uncivilized tribes occupy 
the river basins of the Atlantic slope and have a reservation along the 
coast. Those who have settled along the Pacific coast are of Aztec 
descent. 

Unlike many other American republics, the mainstay of Nicaragua 
is its Indian element, the natives being sober and industrious, tending 
the large herds of cattle, mules and horses which are raised, and also 




tile gautemalans. 


409 

ciJtivating the large plantations of cocoa, sugar-cane and coffee, which 
are principally owned by Europeans on the Pacific slope. Two or three 
crops of the small but juicy sugar-cane are raised annually. Maize is 
the principal food of the civilized natives, and two bountiful harvests 
are gathered from their own lands every year. 

A favorite article of food with the wild Indians who live along the 
rivers and in the swamps of Eastern Nicaragua is the iguana, a lizard 
which grows to be four or five feet long, the tail being two-thirds of its 
length. Its flesh is delicate but said to be unwholesome. It passes 
most of its time in trees, where it is caught by the sly Indian with slip 
nooses. 

When the Spanish conquerors entered the country they found a 
powerful chief on the borders of Lake Nicaragua, named Nicarao. The 
lake was named after him “Nicarao agua,” and from the combination 
of the two words we obtain the present name. 

The Nicaraguans are Roman Catholics, and their republican form 
of government does not materially differ from that of other Central 
American States. Their most serious disturbances were with Great 
Britain and on account of civil wars. England wished to obtain a 
protectorate over the eastern coast, and had obtained a foothold in the 
territory formerly occupied by native tribes under the name of the 
Mosquito Nation. This is now the reservation, of which mention has 
been made. One of the chiefs who died as king of the nation passed 
over his scepter to the English agent at Balize, or British Honduras. 
The Central American republics protested against Great Britain extending 
its protectorate over this territory and were joined by the United States. 
Nicaragua thus became the protector of the Mosquito Nation, with the 
understanding that she was not to interfere with the administrative 
authority of the native king and chiefs, who were in turn to acknowledge 
the government of the republic. Civil war once (1855) divided the 
Nicaraguans into two parties, each having its own capital, and they have 
not been backward in participating in the many quarrels between sister 
republics. 

THE GUATEMALANS. 

Guatemala has about a million and a half of people, and two-thirds 
of its population is Indian. When the Spaniards came to conquer the 
country they found the greater portion of the present territory 
occupied by the powerful native kingdom of the Quiches. For six days 
the invaders fought with its army of more than 200,000 warriors, who 
only yielded with the death of their king. The City of Quiches is now 


410 


THE GUATEMALANS. 


in ruins, but the district which the Quiches occupy is the most populous 
in Guatemala and the inhabitants as intelligent as any in the republic. 
Their ancient language is still in use. The Quiches are described as an 
“active, courageous race, whose heads never grow gray, persevering in 
their industry, skillful in almost every department of art, good workers 
in iron and precious metals, generally well dressed, neat in person, with 
a firm step and independent bearing, and altogether constituting a class 
of citizens who only require to be better educated to rise equal to the 
best.” 

And it would seem that the government had taken the matter in 
charge throughout the republic. The public-school system is in force, 
although until of late years the educational institutions were generally 
supported by the private contributions of wealthy citizens, and were 
mostly confined to the capital. Well-to-do citizens of other states were 
in the habit of sending their children to Guatemala City to be educated- 
This is more or less the case at the present time. The government^ 
however, is giving its own money to the cause, so that the public schools 
have become a part of it. Education is compulsory, and parents or 
guardians who do not allow their children private instruction are required 
to send them to the graded schools. 

No such diversity of costume is found among the people of Guate* 
mala as among the Mexicans. The higher classes, so-called, dress like 
Europeans, the garb of the men of Indian and mixed blood being chiefly 
a short woolen jacket, cotton pantaloons, a palm-leaf hat covered with 
oilcloth, and a shawl of many colors. The Indian women draw a piece 
of blue cotton cloth around the body above the hips, and occasionally a 
white embroidered chemise; and their hair, which is wound around the 
temples, is interbraided with a red cord. 

Guatemala is considered the finest city in Central America, stand¬ 
ing upon a plateau which occupies the extremity of a broad plain, upon 
each side of the town being a volcano. As earthquakes are frequent, 
the houses are of one story. Fronting on one side of the largest square 
is a large cathedral and archiepiscopal palace. In the center is a foun¬ 
tain, one of many which are «=upplied with water from a distance of nine 
miles. Much of this square is occupied by rows of little huts, in which 
pottery, agave thread, iron utensils and other native manufactures are 
displayed for sale, the renting of the booths forming a portion of the 
municipal revenue. Guatemala abounds in churches and other religious 
structures, and although the better classes of private dwellings are low, 
they are tastefully decorated and surrounded by large courtyards, with 
fountains, orange and oleander trees. In the center of another of the 


COSTA RICA. 


4 TI 


city squares is an elegant theater, surrounded also by statues, fountains 
and flowering trees. 

Old Guatemala was destroyed in 1541, by a Hood of water from the 
volcano at whose base its ruins exist. Later the rebuilt city was de¬ 
stroyed by an earthquake. The work of reconstruction is still progress¬ 
ing, as the town is situated in the midst of a rich cochineal district. But 
both new and old Gautemala are evidences more of Spanish than of 
native life, and, as such, we must leave them. 

COSTA RICA. 

This, geographically, is the last of the Central American republics, 
and more than any of the other four is a Spanish state, there being only 
a few thousand Indians in the entire country. Most of the inhabitants 
are of pure Spanish descent, the first settlers coming from Galicia, in 
the north of Spain. The Indians chiefly occupy the Atlantic coast and 
are, probably, of the Carib stock. There are also small tribes at the 
headwaters of the San Juan and in some of the unexplored districts. 

The Costa Ricans are enterprising, and enthusiastic advocates of 
railroads, telegraph lines and other public works, which exist in various 
stages of completion. The revenues of the government have not been 
sufficient to successfully prosecute (heir enterprises, and the country is 
considerably in debt. 

THE SAN SALVADORIANS. 

The natives of this brisk little republic are more than half of Indian 
blood; many of them are debarred from exercising the right of suffrage, 
however, by the provision of the republic s constitution which makes a 
non-voter of a domestic. Other disqualifications consist of being with¬ 
out legal occupation, contracting debts fraudulently, owing money to 
the State, entering the service of a foreign power, or being of a notori¬ 
ously bad character. The president, representatives and senators must 
own a certain amount of property. The geographical position of San 
Salvador has been the means of forcing her into nearly every quarrel 
which has agitated the republics of Central America, but she has ad¬ 
vanced in spite of her many disturbances so that she is really a very pros¬ 
perous little state. The foreign trade of the country, especially in 
coffee and indigo, is rapidly growing ; she is improving her cart roads 
throughout the territory ; encouraging railroads and agriculture ; throwing 
open her unoccupied lands, which have been held by municipalities, to 
settlers; and establishing schools and colleges for both sexes, as well as 
night schools for tradesmen. 


412 


THE SAN SALVADORIANS. 


San Salvador, the caj)ital of the republic, is in a very active vol¬ 
cano district. In 1854 the city was almost completely destroyed, many 
of its 30,000 people perishing-. Most of its public buildings and dwell¬ 
ing houses fell into the cruel jaws of the earth in 1872, and when the 
plucky natives decided to rebuild on the site which had been chosen 350 
years previous, they were about to make the eighth attempt to keep 
above ground. The city is still the center of the republic’s political 
and educational life, containing a university and a well-organized sys¬ 
tem of public schools. In the neighborhood are extensive sugar and 
indigo plantations, and numerous hot springs. 





AUb 





' • * r 




♦ - 


nr i. -*f 

IK', '. 

■' ''/J' 'V^' • ■ ■.,■.».•’■■?-’■' : . 

Sf •>• ■ • ■ 

' .' '■• ,9 ‘. '^: ■' 


r-' p.:': 


t ' 












JSI. %■ 

, * 1 

^ ’>• *',f / =«’■. 

' 

■ 

, PI /*, .. . 'jj. 

' '-\a 

• *. . ll 

i- 

,s , r 3 


■t-JBE.- I* ;,. , 

r.S ,|f 


’). 


p; ;-'-v..: 




1 ,.; 




. .W', 








{ y ‘- -.^ 

, V, •,< 

,F 




'1 ' 1 

;' '■ ' 

■p r ♦'■■ 

•« 4 li 

.!< 




T* 


y* 


,1 »*;■ 

: i I r 


’ ( 


" r..'^ ^• '*'. •■.:»■“'■ 

r JS ,;’*''"J* ■ 

r^.k v-^ I . , r 




' i . . liU* 


T>. 

N?r‘, ' 



.'■PV' WL * - ' 

-■^><>». il . * ' ■' 

,'ij- ■■ >J>i . ■ .,' ,, 

• , t» r 1 ’ I ’.* 


Jr 


.»;■ 


'»*. 


',»j mfri t'i ' -'i 

‘ “'vT •* ,’' 1'* ■' '" 

^ f® ' - . 

I I' : f I 



«|T 

FiffS. 


’1' 3 ^’ ^ ’ 

f'V 


, J, r f 

‘ . & 

• 1 


t • 

^ ' 4 


Jf* 


’■•v, •'’ 

’ S' 




K\.,: 



♦ ^ - J ,. ., 

' -■ Sit-',‘, ,vT 


» 'fiA‘& 


i* h 







.r-» 






r»> ^ 




} 1 « t' , 

', ■ 







■'a 'U '■'•'.♦jAid 


■( O,/’I.,, 

I"'",'); 


/ 't V s 
:kmt v'li 


V,. .,■/ 

* V', ■•'i*»-*'# p ' ' '* ', 

.* . ♦*u".'^ ■ <E»,'• ; uy ■ jt 


*. \S 




I ‘I' 

*’’■■ ' -4 4 ll 


m.^ : .t?, . 


•-jii w*' Elv i! 













, t <3. *'*%'• v-ti.. . .Mti ' I.. i'* ■ ^ j , ■'V ■ •*■•*.'- 




V. ■ 

J 


•r tv > 

• i • 



i • *■ £\. i^ . 


,C\' <1 “■ Vi'' Y','- ' k ' . ■ ' 1 ' ' ■^ ' ''■,*■ i .»t? 

fl*'. 'A /r • • ■ ■--'•U- ■ , ■* - r • il-V.liV 





t 


^•. .j4 


|||y;^:.?i; YV;''''f./;, ^ 


■ 1 


'»i 

**■ .' ' "-^ 
_ •, 4 ^r! 5 i:ij 


if. ■; -■' ■ V ■;>; '^f^' 

^ \h .'i' *»' \’ ' \ >’ • j ^ *-'‘'- h* J ' < 

" - ij. ■•'Ji ■ •^’ ' ' i 'lvt- ■ ' ;'■ 

,Y ' . . - v " vfV.y ••■ ',. ■. V , %ri'v’ *4 V.-ir,.-^ 





I . ■ 4 | ^ 

• . w' J 4 >!>.• 






•v" 


± 


■- i‘ 


■■ ' /' v*« 

.,1 ■ I - ■ - . •^a- 


/if 

^ ” 1 ' 


' < V. . 

tvv. 

(•■’ ■ 'jV 'J'. '■ 

■■ : f') \ '1 ''.H ;V '. 

' \t -•... V ■ 


% • 


V <■< 


V. ■■ 

4 '■ •*" . ' 

• Vi 


I 


15 



! , r 4^, ’ ii^'f "jfw 

I .'•■:• ■ ■' 'dWI 

t:; ti<w J 


I,' -«'■ 


'j'p* " Jit':;: -^5:1 y: 

*’■' ' .S<f<Aii'*i?:' ‘ijJ.ii"- .V ; ,A*S4i,iV i '■, , .tji 


«'■ >■ '.•:! 




¥v,^d 




^ ' I ^ I 


•s • • 


1., 


^ / ' > 

































